In recent years, the National Library of Australia (NLA) has seen renovation to its exhibition space, located immediately before the entrance to the main reading room. In the central foyer that joins the exhibition space to the reading room, the inclusion of an ‘oral history’ exhibition space is designed to both enhance the current exhibition and entice visitors to enter this space.
During the course of two observations, only two people sat and used the space for its designed purpose, despite it being a busy thoroughfare. One occasion was on a weekend when there are many visitors for the exhibition. In fact, during the second visit, on a Thursday afternoon, no-one used the space during the 40 minutes spent observing the space.
The immediate oral history space includes some interesting design features which do deliver some of the intended purpose. On closer observation however, it is somewhat lost when viewing in the context of the entire central foyer and many visitors either pass it by, walk around it without engaging with the installation or, sit at the back of the space seeming to wonder what it is actually about. Created with good intentions, tucked into a dark corner of the foyer, the space works if you know what it is; however, overall, the foyer represents a missed opportunity for engagement, outreach and learning.
Dane (2013) observes that libraries are no longer just spaces about books and study. Instead, they are dynamic locations that have embraced technological changes to meet the increasing demand for digital services. The NLA is no exception to this and the oral history exhibition represents one such change to the modern library landscape. The attempted use of immersive technology in this space was clearly designed to enhance the environment and create a somewhat interactive display (Watson, 2013) although at the very basic level. It is this strategy to including technology in the library space to enhance user interaction as described by Watson (2013) that represents the missed opportunity for the NLA.
This exhibition itself is not truly interactive. The user sits in the seats that form part of the delivery of the information; however, there is no true interactive experience. With ample space behind this element of the space, there is plentiful opportunity for the inclusion of some truly interactive experiences that would both enhance the main exhibition and entice people to enter that area. It is in fact, the lack of stimuli in this area that, according to Watson (2013) dictates the used of the space for the visitor. That is, in this instance, the lack of engaging displays and installations results in the visitor doing nothing. As Brown (2009) discusses, people’s behaviour in a space give essential clues about the use of the space and their needs. Further development of the foyer would allow people to see the oral history exhibition as part of a cohesive program and help more people engage with this element of the library program.
Action should be taken to develop the lost opportunity of the Central Foyer. The vacant space located behind the oral history exhibition must be redesigned to create an engaging and aesthetically pleasing environment and enhance the connection between the oral history display and the main exhibition room. Implementation of design thinking This can be achieved with improvement to the lighting, addition of furniture that invited visitors into the space and the addition of displays that entice engagement and interaction from the library user. Furthermore, the glass wall which separates the central foyer to the study area of the main reading room should receive frosting treatment to avoid the fishbowl effect for those uses and limit distractions.
References
Brown, T. (2009). Change… by design. A summary of highlights compiled by Michael Kellar. Retrieved from: https://www.ecologyofdesigninhumansystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Change-By-Design-Tim-Brown.pdf
Dane, J. 2013. Books, Nooks and MOOC’s in Watson, L. (Ed.) Better library and learning space: Projects trends ideas. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/detail.action?docID=1680067
Watson, L. (Ed.). (2013) Better library and learning space: Projects trends ideas. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/detail.action?docID=1680067.
Thank you for taking the time to both observe this space authentically, and write such a detailed account. I think this is fantastic, but also want to try and be constructive. To help me do this, I’ve framed my feedback using a protocol I often use with students: I like, I wish, I wonder.
I like that you clearly put a lot of time and effort into observing the central foyer and oral history exhibition spaces in the context of their adjacent spaces and the entire museum experience. This perspective, along with a brief history of its development, provided me (the reader) with an understanding of the purpose of the space. The reference to Dane (2013) also provides the reader with some insight into the changing nature of libraries.
I wish you had a go at offering some specific suggestions around how they could improve the space, e.g. furniture or case studies of similar spaces. While I understand that this may not be in the spirit of design thinking – although you gained some user-perspective through your observations – I get the impression you have enough knowledge and insight into library designs to make some worthwhile suggestions.
I wonder how newer technologies such as virtual reality, or augmented reality, could be used to make the oral history exhibition space more immersive and interactive.
Aaron Cook
Thanks Lisette for your post and as you pointed out you can’t have an interactive space when there is no activity 🙂 You have described it very well and used the readings and references – your idea of changes needed would have helped if it had been presented as a mud map or illustration of the changes being suggested.