Space Planning

Does your library entrance draw people inside? Once inside, what makes people take notice? Can retail space planning ideas help you create an inviting library space? This section will help you plan and design your library space to create a welcoming, healthy, safe and accessible environment.
Self-paced courses and webinar recordings on this topic are freely available in the WebJunction Course Catalog.
Photo: Group3 Planners, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Most Recently Added
Community of Practice for Telehealth at the Library
Publish Date: News / 1 June 2021
Even before the pandemic, Pottsboro Library in Texas had begun to focus more on health, through their community garden, and programming like cooking classes for families on a SNAP budget. But when director Dianne Connery witnessed the added challenge...
Smart Spaces are Community Places
Publish Date: Webinar / 27 April 2021
In this webinar, learn design thinking principles that can be used in collaboration with the community, to identify and meet space and programming needs for active learning.
Smart Space Transformations Transcend Library Closures
Publish Date: News / 12 March 2021
In the spring of 2020, the 15 small and rural libraries participating in WebJunction’s Small Libraries Create Smart Spaces project were on the verge of activating their newly transformed smart spaces with collaborative community programming;...
Taking the Plunge into Prototyping
Publish Date: News / 4 March 2021
After opening up a world of possibilities with community discovery and ideation brainstorming, the Small Libraries Create Smart Spaces libraries were ready to move on to the next step in the design thinking process: prototyping. Creating a prototype ...
Turning Community Input into Workable Ideas
Publish Date: News / 17 February 2021
In their community discovery process, the 15 libraries participating in the second round of Small Libraries Create Smart Spaces learned that community input is likely to lead to more questions than neat, complete answers. In sorting through the tangl...
Small Libraries Discover Their Communities
Publish Date: News / 9 February 2021
The design thinking process begins with a deep investigation into a community’s values, needs, and interests before rushing to develop space and service transformations. Forging connections and starting conversations with your community are essential...
Understand Active Learning and Community-driven Spaces
Publish Date: News / 26 January 2021
This resource is part of the Toolkit for Creating Smart Spaces, a toolkit to help you re-envision your library’s place as a center of community learning. Libraries have long been hubs of lifelong learning for all ages. Active learning takes ...
Translate Community Needs and Expand Possibilities
Publish Date: News / 26 January 2021
This resource is part of the Toolkit for Creating Smart Spaces, a toolkit to help you re-envision your library’s place as a center of community learning. You have gathered a lot of feedback and generated a lot of insights into your community...
Toolkit for Creating Smart Spaces
Publish Date: News / 26 January 2021
Libraries have evolved over the past few years to augment their role in providing lifelong learning for their communities. They have shifted from passive to active engagement with community members. They are becoming hubs of collaborative learning, p...
Test Ideas with Prototyping
Publish Date: News / 26 January 2021
This resource is part of the Toolkit for Creating Smart Spaces, a toolkit to help you re-envision your library’s place as a center of community learning. After opening up the world of possibilities through creative ideation and brainstorming...
Toolkit for Creating Smart Spaces
WebJunction offers a toolkit to help you re-envision your library’s place as a center of community learning. Explore more of the Toolkit for Creating Smart Spaces.