The term universal design describes the concept of designing all products and the built environment to be both attractive and also usable by everyone, regardless of their age or physical ability. It is normally applied to the type of interior design that avoids putting unnecessary barriers in the way of people with impairments. In this book Staines has applied the concept to libraries to make them aesthetically satisfying and yet practical. The purpose is to design for flexibility so that no space becomes restrictive. In this book the author interprets the concept broadly and then applies it to the interior design of academic libraries. Library interiors, she says, must allow for people with all sorts of abilities, both mental and physical. She includes some attributes that would sometimes be forgotten, such as whether you are right or left handed. The whole idea is to create flexible spaces with as few barriers as possible.
There is attention to the basics in here: flooring, lighting, colour, and the rest. The author clearly understands ergonomics and has applied it to comments about study desks and chairs. Yet interior design must also take into account the bigger picture, hence standards and security are also brought to our attention. To illustrate her ideas the author has used a whole chapter for what she calls “vignettes”, and these cover recreating the reference desk, meeting increased demand for group study rooms, replacing flooring in a high-traffic area, reinventing staff space, and a new approach to designing social and learning spaces. There are numerous drawings to add to the ideas in the text, a lengthy bibliography and a decent index. If you are presented with a challenge in redesigning the interior of your library, this is a good book to use to get some fresh ideas and what's more the spaces you design should be suitable for all your staff and customers.
