Looking

In the long run, it is anticipated that most of the library content will become digital, a “rare book vault” or “hardcopy” vault will remain permanently and ultimately incorporate the use of some robotized system for ‘hardcopy retrieval’ as other libraries have done for its efficiency. Beyond individual “reading” the library will have to become more dynamic in the types of activities it provides to the member/visitor.

In spite of the decline of “the library”, we believe its value will resurge beyond its past because the necessity for “access” to those who do not have it will only increase overall.

The “Looking Forward” proposal is a logical but eloquent reassertion of the Athenaeum on 6^th Street. The new overall spatial layout has been made flexible enough to allow the library’s activities to change and evolve as they have in trends across the country. “Design” influences most where the comfort of the building user is a concern: light, temperature, and spatial relationship to name a few. Providing: information & tool access, human interaction, and self-immersion in the outside world are the three elements that this design seeks to manifest and empower for the livelihood of the Athenaeum and its ongoing success.