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Knowing the components of media centers, including media-production
areas, is key to understanding what media centers can become.
Media centers have always been people places. Making those spaces
as congenial as possible -- while remaining flexible -- remains
of utmost importance.
Planning for flexibility mandates that media centers have as
few internal walls as possible. The corresponding lighting pattern
must be just as flexible.
Libraries traditionally require two types of lighting: general
and task specific. While this remains true, the infusion of technologies
into media centers creates new circumstances and rules for lighting
needs. As an example, a diagonal pattern for ceiling lighting
offers flexibility by allowing for good illumination no matter
how the library stacks are arranged or rearranged -- or even if
they no longer function as stack areas. Running the lighting down
the stack aisles definitely would limit future design options.
Similarly, placing diagonal ceiling-lighting installations on
separate controls also helps with creating special lighting areas.
Making use of natural daylight in reading areas is a longtime
tradition of library/media center design, and deservedly so. Yet
also consider that while relying in part on natural light for
daytime reading and activities works well, additional lighting
will be needed if the media center is open for nighttime activities.
Even if the facility does not have regular evening hours, more
than likely there will be after-work parent open houses and meetings
of outside groups there in the evening.
Consider placing classroom areas in more controlled corners
of the media center and making use of banked fluorescent or incandescent
dimmer systems. If someone wants to use a portable projector for
a presentation in one of the classroom areas, it will need to
be darkened. Being able to control ambient light for that presentation
or for other electronic functions will be important.
If your school district is renovating a media center space,
conduct a photometric study to determine current glare levels.
Ask your architect or technology consultant for advice on how
to schedule this service. Many manufacturers offer photometric
data on floppy disks, allowing the architect or consultant to
try out several options for your site.
Lighting is one area that is typically outside of building code
requirements and, as a result, can be overlooked in building project
budgets. But proper lighting in a technology-rich environment
is critically important. If it is not considered initially, it
will have to be considered at a later, more costly date. Do it
right the first time.
Color schemes that correlate with lighting levels also can make
a big difference, especially when combined with comfort and flexibility.
As corners or spaces that currently support reading areas might
well become computer sites or telecommunications corners within
a few years, coordinated color choices become important, too.
Grays, blues, and similar hues help reduce and absorb glare. Natural
colors lend themselves best to video transmission.
A few other design thoughts: Muted colors, wood, and well-designed
and constructed furniture will function well into the future and
look good in the process. Carpet and upholstered furniture help
to control sound relay and transmission.
Be sure to designate all rooms and spaces in the media center
-- even current storage areas -- in the initial plan for voice,
video, and data cabling. Reconfiguring transitional spaces should
not require installation work. If the basic space arrangement
can't be changed over a long weekend, it is not well planned.
Calculating spaces
It's true that every penny saved in footage and space is one
more penny that can be applied toward internal systems such as
air quality, acoustics, and computer networks. But don't assume
that the movement of more and more material from bookshelves to
online databases means a school needs less space for its media
center.
People still need comfortable spaces in which to gather and
use information. And today, using information extends way beyond
jotting down notes while sitting at a library table and flipping
through tomes on a term paper topic. Given the proper technology,
today's learners have vast new research and presentation options.
A high school media center should address the needs of a techno-age
student who wants to be able to create, receive, and apply every
kind of information in a dynamic yet friendly setting. A media
center with a production studio, head-end/control room, distance-learning
classroom, multimedia-presentation lecture room, and to-the-desktop
voice, video, and data bi-directional system is so valuable that
the issue is no longer whether to design it into the school space
but rather where to place it for maximum benefit. Concomitant
staffing issues include questions of who will monitor and maintain
these facilities and who will help students and faculty integrate
the technological capabilities into the daily curriculum.
There are two ways to go. High-tech elements either are placed
throughout the building, which requires hiring additional staff
to support them, or they are placed in centralized areas where
professionals versatile in managing them already exist. For most
school districts, placing high-tech spaces in or near a library/media
center not only makes budget and space sense; it also makes program
and curriculum design sense.
As noted earlier, determining the size for these spaces depends
largely on how much room the technology devices take up and the
ways in which people will interact in the space. Usually, student
interactions depend on the following factors:
* Is it a scheduled class activity? Will only the same 20-25
students be using this space and these technologies during a scheduled
time?
* Will production projects be more flexible and responsive to
individual students or to small groups that need to create projects
on a random basis?
* Can the budget support multiples of the same equipment, or
will the equipment be shared between production locations (television
studio, editing rooms, and computer multimedia lab)?
* Will pictures, sound, video, or graphics need to be transmitted
to or from desktops, to the control room for building distribution,
or to the community at large?
* Will trained staff members be available full time to teach,
assist, and advise students creating productions or will the staff
members simultaneously be responsible for other media areas?
* Will initial production activity take place in a linear (video)
editing room and later activity in a nonlinear (computer based)
lab, requiring a shift from place to place? If so, will the move
happen physically or electronically?
To answer these questions takes an understanding of human interactions,
the technologies to be used, and the complex systems designed
to distribute signals from a studio. A technology consultant can
be helpful here.
Most facility plans make the new breed of school library/media
centers the home of their television studio, multimedia production
lab, student/staff production area, computer training room, head-end
distribution control room, information commons area, and editing
facilities. Understanding how each area relates to the others
helps define overall media center space and design relationships.
For example, consider whether these spaces have common or shared
equipment needs, cabling runs, electronic capabilities, and people
supervision and assistance concerns.
The head-end room
The electronic heart of it all is a media center's head-end
room. The head-end room can be described as the electronic start,
stop, and flow location for all information devices, wiring, and
controls for the building. If it is a voice, video, or data signal,
it either comes from there or at some point returns there.
The head-end room is almost always placed in the center of the
building for physical, information, and personnel reasons. Since
the media center itself is also usually centrally located in the
building (for everyone to have easy access to print and electronic
information), it becomes a natural extension of information access
and dissemination to design the head-end room within the media
center. Central placement also facilitates a star configuration
cabling pattern, which improves systems flexibility.
Just placing the head-end room in the general vicinity of the
media center is not enough; it needs to be in the media center.
To make functional sense of the placement, look at the types of
technology devices that will be in the room; the amount of visual
and physical access the head-end equipment will require; the number
of staff members and/or students that will interact with those
items; and other rooms or areas that need to be close to the equipment.
First, consider the devices typically found in a head-end room.
If the school district has purchased a video distribution system,
there is likely to be a rack system filled with video devices
-- VCRs, videodisc players, satellite tuners, computer terminals,
cable tuners, and so on -- that allow for shared access. Most
of these systems have a common control and monitor console.
If a phone system is in the room, its control console system
also is found there. Since both video distribution and phone systems
require cabling from classrooms and offices to terminate at control
devices, it makes sense to bring all the facility's cabling back
to the head-end room. This includes data cabling.
Second, the head-end room's precise placement is critical to
the ease of interaction and supervision. While most systems in
the head-end room don't require the media staff to be in the room
for long periods, convenient physical access and quick visual
access to the room are extremely important. Most designs thus
place the head-end room close to both the media center's circulation
desk (or its equivalent) and the media specialist's office. Usually
a window enables supervisors to give the room quick looks without
opening a door. As school districts usually prefer that only trained
staff members have access to a head-end room, most designs also
secure the room by allowing access only through a secondary area,
such as through a work room or media specialist's office.
It is important to place certain other electronic interactions
(and the staff supervision they require) near the head-end room.
The television studio or video production area, shared computer
lab, large group lecture or presentation room, and distance-learning
room or lab are a few of the areas that need to be close to the
room.
Often overlooked when planning your head-end room are the environment
and services necessary to keep this room functioning and provide
capabilities for future technological expansions. The electrical
engineer should plan for adequate power to run the initial equipment
and provide spare circuits for future equipment. This should be
clean power: circuits without other rooms or equipment on them.
Many newer buildings have computer power on separate panel boards
and isolated from other systems. Power needs for each piece of
equipment should be provided to your engineer early in the design
process of the building. To prevent inadvertent "shut down," it's
wise to place any panel boards associated with the head-end room
and video production studio in the head-end room.
As every piece of equipment in the head-end room generates significant
heat and requires special treatment, extra cooling and humidifying
are necessary to keep the equipment from tripping off. The BTU
heat load for each piece of equipment is easily attained and should
be shared with your mechanical engineer early in the design process.
Don't forget that the phone system, computer hubs, servers and
mainframes, and people add heat to the room.
New buildings often have night set-back thermostats and economizer
systems to reduce energy consumption during night and weekend
off-peak hours. Do not permit such a system in the head-end
room, as the equipment there operates round-the-clock. The head-end
room should have a stand-alone mechanical cooling system for 24-hour
service with its own controls. If you are planning for a satellite
dish or antenna, they should be directly above the head-end room
with their cable runs terminating there. Remind your architect
of the extra dead load of the dish and the need for a weather-tight
sleeve into the room.
Don't forget storage areas, perhaps in a room off the head-end
room or provided in metal storage cabinets. You'll need to store
videotapes, discs, phone books, loose equipment, and spare parts.
A work surface for repairs will be appreciated by your technicians.
Bets Barrett
is national director of the instructional division at Meeks Technology
Group in Phoenix. Rich Hardt
is a partner with Speicher, Fields, and Associates in South Bend,
Ind. Pegge Hudson
is an interior designer with Hollis & Miller Group in Prairie
Village, Kan.
SELECTING THE SOFTWARE
Uneasy about purchasing library automation software?
Harve Tannenbaum, a former regional library director turned software
salesman for Nichols Advanced Technologies, says the first thing
to do is pause, step back, and assess your situation. Too many
librarians, he says, become so enamored with the bells and whistles
of library automation software that they lose sight of a fundamental
question: "What do you want [the software] to do?"
Tannenbaum advises schools to avoid the software
salespeople until that fundamental question is answered -- by
several people, not just one school librarian. Once it is answered,
go about seeing what's available, examining three key features:
1. Technical excellence. "You want to
be on the leading edge of technology, not the bleeding edge,"
says Tannenbaum. "The newest stuff doesn't have all the bugs worked
out." So choose something that's proven itself in other school
settings.
2. Ease of use. "Novice users are not
going to read the manual," he says. "If it's not easy for the
[students and teachers] to use, then the librarians are going
to spend all their time teaching them how to use it. You're going
to end up with frustrated librarians and frustrated [students
and teachers]." As a consequence, when you test the software,
remember to do it through the eyes of students and teachers.
3. Technical support. If a system doesn't
work because it's broken or too hard to use, you'd better have
someone who can help you out, says Tannenbaum.
In The Guide to Library Automation, published
by Winnebago Software Company, company officials say automation
software programs should be supported by toll-free help lines,
modem support, or support via the Internet. If those services
are offered, school officials should ask follow-up questions,
such as: How long does the original technical support contract
last? And, what will it cost to renew technical support? If a
company is vague about its technical support, you should be concerned.
The automation guide also suggests that librarians
find out how software companies are keeping up with the latest
changes in technology, such as client/server architecture, cross-platform
software, voice-activated computers, wireless networking systems,
and Internet access. To bolster that knowledge, the guide recommends
asking more specific follow-up questions, such as: Does the software
allow users to search other electronic resources from the online
catalog? And, does it have the capability to allow resource sharing
by modem or common databases? If a company is keeping up with
advances in technology, it's more likely to have intelligent answers
to those questions. (The Guide to Library Automation is available
at no cost from Winnebago Software. Call 800-533-5430, ext. 402,
for more information.)
Of course, there are other things to look for,
too. Michele Shaw, a product manager for Follett Software, says
a good library automation program is configured so users can do
a lot of cross-referencing. For example, she says, school kids
in Wisconsin call water fountains "bubblers." If a Wisconsin student
was doing a research report examining lead levels in the water
coming out of school water fountains, they'd be likely to type
in "bubbler" as a key word.
With a poorly designed data system, the student
would probably find nothing. Says Shaw: "You're only as good as
your data."
According to Shaw, a good software package should
also adhere to certain industry standards. For instance, the cataloging
module of the software should follow MARC (Machine Readable Cataloging)
standards, which were established by the U.S. Library of Congress.
There are plenty of good library automation
programs available, these experts say. Choosing the right one
for your school library should be easier if you keep these suggestions
in mind.
-- Kevin Bushweller
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