Can we create library environments that inspire people to be more creative, collaborative, reflective, or engaged? That is the driving question of this imaginative book. Brian Mathews (Virginia Tech Libraries) weaves elements together from architecture, psychology, retail, neuroscience, and many other disciplines in this narrative about the evolution of library buildings. Re-conceptualizing libraries as showrooms, studios, salons, and boutiques, some new directions are outlined for discussion about the future. The text encourages you and your team to look beyond the functional value of your facility, and to consider how libraries can also serve as an experimental landscape that helps foster well being and personal growth.

Featuring drawings and renderings from interior designer Leigh Ann Soistmann, Encoding Space is ideal for librarians and campus administrators looking to spark their creative thinking and push strategic conversations about the purpose, value, and future of library buildings.