https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6015-4958
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ABSTRACT
Codesigning public library spaces is often limited to consulting with end-users rather than giving them a role as actual co-designers. This article advocates for more genuine codesign of public library spaces and critically examines the prevalent challenges in achieving true codesign in public library developments. The article introduces a two-year Australian Research Council Linkage research project, ‘Designing for Communities with Communities’. The project aims to provide public library staff with a set of codesign tools they can adapt for their own particular projects. Using comparative case studies, the project will also identify the challenges of integrating codesign into the development of public library spaces, and key factors in the effectiveness of projects that seek their communities’ inputs and engagement. This article introduces the theory of participatory and codesign, and sets out the basic conceptual framework for the project. It also reports on its initial stages, including preliminary interviews with key protagonists and preliminary user surveys about existing spaces. Moreover, the article discusses the design of the case studies’ community workshops, where most of the actual codesigning will take place, with an extensive discussion and analysis of the activities that could be included in these workshops.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the contributions to date from our Australian Research Council Linkage project Partner Investigators, including Kate O’Grady, Carina Clement, Cecelia Steele, and Hollie McPherson, and our Partner Organisations, including the State Library of New South Wales, Albury City Council and Fairfield City Council, as well as the support from the ARC itself, and from Charles Sturt University.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Some writers do make a distinction, however, so e.g. Caixeta et al. (Citation2019) distinguish between participatory design, whereby users are actively involved throughout the process, and codesign, in which users become part of the design team along with the design professions. Our project aims to realise both these scenarios.
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Notes on contributors
Philip Hider
Philip Hider is Professor of Library and Information Management in the School of Information and Communication Studies at Charles Sturt University. He has been researching in the field of Library and Information Science since the 1990s, specialising in the area of knowledge organisation.
Jane Garner
Jane Garner is a senior lecturer at the School of Information and Communication Studies at Charles Sturt University. Her research interests include those relating to library services to disadvantaged groups, most specifically adult and child prisoner communities, and those experiencing homelessness.
Ann Godfrey
Ann Godfrey is a postgraduate research fellow attached to the ARC Linkage Project that is the subject of this article. She is a trained architect who has designed projects in London, New York and Sydney. Her academic work includes as a lecturer and course convenor at Sydney University and at Berkeley University in California, and as an adjunct lecturer at the University of New South Wales, where she completed her PhD.
Hamid R. Jamali
Hamid R. Jamali is an associate professor in the School of Information and Communication Studies at Charles Sturt University. His current research interests include scholarly communication, research evaluation as well as the role of public libraries.
Simon Wakeling
Simon Wakeling is a senior lecturer in the School of Information and Communication Studies at Charles Sturt University. His research interests include the role and function of public libraries, and scholarly communication, particularly the open access publication and dissemination of research outputs.