Photo by Phil Freelon
In college, the library was the place we went when we wanted to get work done, but didn't feel like sitting in our cramped dorm rooms. Honestly, I rarely used the library's books or online resources, except for the rare occasion when I had to look up a scholarly article on a university database. The real reason we went to the library was to sit in a quiet space with other students, feeling a sense of focus as well as a sense of community.
Fast Company recently posted an article called "The Public Library Want To Be Your Office," in which it discusses the evolution of public libraries from book houses to community workspaces. For me, this idea feels familiar. It's something that I truly miss from college: having a quiet community space to study, read, or do work, without having to stake out a table at Starbucks at 8 AM (and order something out of guilt) or become a member of a local coworking office.
Not every library is set up for this kind of thing, but if it the trend continues, libraries of the future will have a lot more spaces like the one in the above photo.
Read the full article, "The Public Library Wants To Be Your Office," on Fast Company.