This post is an excerpt from an American Libraries interview with Marcy Pride, former dean of Liberty University’s Library + Academic Commons, who shared insight about VMDO’s design process for the library.
How did you use VMDO’s services?
VMDO was hired to design a world-class library that would provide service for a university undergoing a major campus transformation and explosive growth. A key requirement was the ability to anticipate the future demand for growth in collections and to create flexible learning spaces that would inspire and engage our residential and online students.
How did VMDO serve Liberty University’s Library’s needs?
They served as expert listeners and facilitators in uncovering not only our library’s design but how it related to our campus and our customers. VMDO sought out connections at the most personal level while weaving together the needs of the many stakeholders involved in a project that would impact thousands of students, faculty, and staff for years to come.
What were the main benefits of using VMDO?
Their team provided friendly guidance through the marathon of sprints unfamiliar to a library inexperienced in large building programs. Their close professional relationships with a range of industry consultants offered us incredible benefits in service design, plans for our library collection, and in our interior design. They set the tone with this building for a campus transformation and incorporated many design elements that will be utilized in the master plan they were also hired to provide.
What would you have liked to see improved or added to their service?
VMDO provides careful insights into educational building design. They might consider producing publications related to the academic library design process that would be beneficial to the campuses considering library renovations, additions, or entirely new libraries.
Read the original article in the September/October 2014 issue of American Libraries.
