IFLA’s Section for Library Buildings and Equipment and the Koninklijke Bibliotheek are proud to present a joint conference:
Building for the Future National and Academic Libraries from around the Globe
3-5 October 2007
Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Royal Library)
The Hague, Netherlands
Over the last decade or so the library world has seen the appearance of many new buildings and refurbishment projects as the sector attempts to adapt to the digital age. Materials are no longer solely held on endless shelves containing books, journals, newspapers, manuscripts and so forth, but also in digital storage needing, in theory, less space and not only accessible from the library building itself.
However, libraries have not become outdated as places of learning and study, but have often consolidated their position in regard to the research and public communities they serve.
The conference Building for the Future: National and Academic Libraries from around the Globe brings together a number of National Library and Academic Library buildings projects from the last decade showing how these types of libraries have risen to the challenges of new services and new expectations from their users.
With presentations from Europe, Asia, South America and the Caribbean the conference will bring together an exciting array of library buildings from around the world showing how different countries have designed and built libraries for the future. We will hear about the building processes, cooperation with architects and engineers and how librarians and users have reacted to these new buildings.
The conference will also celebrate the 25th anniversary of the present building of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in The Hague, looking back at its history and marking the opening of a new reading room and the presentation of a new publication about the building.
More information about Building for the Future is available at the IFLA website.