Student: Elizabeth Hartman
Advisor: Scott Shall
Content Experts: Edward Orlowski, Dale Gyure
Evolving methodologies of transmitting information have worked to solve a common and persistent dilemma: “how to manage our collective intellectual capital” (Wright 2007, 6). Each development in the history of information transmission has seen a democratization of information through the flattening of organizational charts as we witness decreased reliance on information being distributed through a single source, a blurring of borders as resources and ideas spread beyond geographical confines, and a perceived shift in older methodologies towards anachronism (Wright 2007, 6).
With this democratization, however, the general public is also faced with increasing deliberation on the topic of truth. Where there was once a great degree of control over where information was disseminated from, there are now countless sources from which information can be shared instantaneously. Within this process of democratization, there has simultaneously been a dissolution of trusted authority figures. The library has, historically, been somewhat immune to these forces, and has largely remained a trusted authority of credibility into the present age (Horrigan 2018). With historic means of sharing information, the library’s scrutinization of sources to determine what has earned a position within the contested space has served as a benchmark to the public of the credibility of informational sources. Historically, libraries have remained largely static in their architectural manifestation, which has worked well with show evolutions to information technologies and preferred methodologies of information transmission. However, as we face the most recent and increasingly rapid evolutions of these methodologies, and thus the democratization of information, out libraries must similarly evolve to contend with swift changes and remain suitable hubs for determining source credibility and promoting cross-community discussion.
This thesis aims to examine historic methodologies of information transmission and patterns of library design to understand how the architecture of these spaces—in regard to form, material, and program—has supported this quest for credibility, so that we might better understand how libraries can evolve into and beyond the Age of AI. The project
recommends defining a strategy for renovating existing library structures in a way that celebrates the historic role the library has played in our collective understanding of the credibility of informational sources and the role they have held in helping people to educate themselves and take control of their understanding of the world around them. The project recommends a renovation strategy which allows new building forms to stand in juxtaposition to the existing library structures and employ a formal lightness which can be adapted for evolving technologies and showcase the passage of time as they continue to serve our communities into the future.
