LJ highlights some features of the new Darien Library:
New technology, new design
RFID for self-check and materials handling is just a tip of the technology infused throughout the building. There are also 21 wireless access points, large LCD flat displays for community information, a ten-foot rear-projection screen for the community room, and a touch-screen tabletop Microsoft Surface computer for the children’s room on the main floor. A “Power Library” in the basement is filled with public access computers and includes a room dedicated to office needs. The teen room nestles right next to the Power Library, in a serious effort, according to Blyberg, to “couple teens with technology.”
On the third floor, reference desks give way to a hybrid service model. Roving staffers are equipped with mini-laptops but can land as needed at small reference “touchdown spaces” for collaborative, side-by-side searching with patrons. Dewey itself has also been tweaked. A “mashed up” nonfiction collection is grouped into larger more readily browsable categories. The children’s collection is organized by progressive reading level to better drive and inspire developing readers. Within the children’s section, the toddler set has a room dedicated to it, complete with a heated cork floor.