FROM TRADITIONAL LIBRARIES TO LEARNING COMMONS: A NEED FOR A SHIFT IN NIGERIAN LIBRARY SPACE DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

H.T. Gwary¹, W.B. Brisibi², F.F.O.Daminao³ and I.B. Girku⁴

¹ Researcher, Master of Science Architecture,

²Department of Architecture, Rivers State University, Nkpolu – Oruworukwo, Port Harcourt

Email: htgwaryhart@gmail.com¹ , ferdydaminabo@yahoo.com³ and Ibroplan84@gmail.com⁴

ABSTRACT

A library is a building or space attached to any level of educational institution which serves two complementary purposes to support the school’s curriculum, and to support the research in the institute and for students. While Learning Commons is a student-centered physical and virtual learning space designed under the guiding principles of openness, flexibility, comfort, inspiration, and practicality, it is aimed at fostering collaborative and independent active learning by providing technology, resources, and services that help to engage students in the learning process. Library space designs in Nigeria are rigid, too formal and not designed and configured to meet the students’ needs and demands for motivated learning and research purposes that fosters collaborative and independent learning. Every appropriate space in the library should be reconfigured for the researchers and students to take any relaxed position appropriate to assist high assimilation as well as allow for the use of electronic devices within the library spaces. This study is meant to assess the need for adopting a new design philosophy for the redesign of Nigerian library spaces into Learning Commons. This is with the view to catch up with high level international standards and also to negotiate with the traditional library space designs of Nigerian learning institutions. This study methodology employed the case study approach to compare the extent to which some foreign libraries shift from the traditional paradigm to the Learning Commons paradigm and the need for our local libraries to adopt this transforming world class approach. This attempt will be useful to recommend an upgrade in the design and layout of spaces for future libraries. This study is expected to be useful in providing architectural design guidelines to create more comfortable and convenient study spaces for researchers and students or library users in Nigeria from an architectural point of view.

Keywords: Library, Space design, Learning Commons, Collaborative