The visit to DOK, a concept library in Delft (The Netetherlands)

In a previous post, I recommended a visit to DOK, a concept library in Delft, (The Netherlands). The idea of a total media library is not new, but it is news if the concept and design does really works in reality.  This is a photo-essay of my visit and through the images you can feel my reactions to the place.  All in all and without being able to use the services, I must say I do like the concept, the design works and the atmosphere was that of a place that is being used, well used.  It is also a meeting place, with catering services, a whole area for childen, with games, and of course the mediotheque, the audiovisual area with furniture-designed to provide a secluded area for video/audio uses.

The reinvention of the library in the age of media, is still possible!

Entrance hall at the NAI, Rotterdam

NAI - Nederlans Architectuurinstituut 

Continuing with posts in the series of "entrances in museums", I would like to point here the attention to an ingenious way to solve space distribution, uses and services to visitors and its uses, making clear what the reception area is for.  Movable modules are installed in the open central area, colors and names on them are to define uses and organize the information ffor visitors.  cristla walls in the building also help in the connection between exterior and interior, which in this specific case is used in a dramatic way to facilitate architectural exhibition.

Ground floor from exhibits floor 

Reception area

Lockers

NAI Bookshop

NYtimes' article "The spirit of sharing" about museums and social media

The Spirit of Sharing, article by Carol Vogel:  Social media technology has created new opportunities for museums to create interactivity inside and outside of their walls. 

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While museums have long strived to be welcoming places as well as havens of learning, social media is turning them into virtual community centers. On Facebook or Twitter or almost any museum Web site, everyone has a voice, and a vote. Curators and online visitors can communicate, learning from one another. As visitors bring their hand-held devices to visits, the potential for interactivity only intensifies.

However, there is a caveat. The new technology is “stimulating, and we’re giving a lot of thought to the amount of information we provide,” said Thomas P. Campbell, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But “we’ve got to keep people in a heads-up mode, to make sure they are looking at art.”

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Complete article by Carol Vogel in NYTimes

"Speaking Digitally About Exhibits", article in NYTimes

To gather lessons from the American Museum of Natural History’s first Tweetup, Ms. Canty said the staff members had decided to also conduct an old-fashioned survey of participants.
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As museums are seeing budgets cut and fierce competition for people’s time, Ms. Canty said social media helps people stay engaged. “There is a sense that social media tools make people more remote from each other and more remote from reality,” she said. “What people want to engage with is an authentic experience, and we think that is our stock in trade. That is everything that we do here.”

Complete article in NYTimes