“We designed our libraries for people, not books,” Østergård said. The collection remained the same size, about 325,000 items, but the new space is much larger. It’s based on the Four Space model developed by Danish Royal School of Library and Information Science professors: inspiration space, learning space, meeting space, and performative space that overlap and intersect. Action words for each sector of the model: Excite. Explore. Create. Participate.
Do a deep dive into The Model Programme for Public Libraries and you’ll see intriguing and thought-provoking results in Denmark and beyond. Libraries become the center of urban development and incubators of community knowledge, bringing together multiple functions in a centralized hub and open, evolving learning spaces. Dokk1 includes access to literature and information, a children’s theater, a playground, a family space, creation rooms, a quiet area for reflection and reading, and the Transformation Lab, an area for ever-changing, interactive art projects. Images Østergård shared brought the library to life. Applause, exclamations, and “oohs and ahs” filled the room.