Another reason to love Maira Kalman
May 1, 2011 at 1:16 pm 3 comments
I read this great article about library design over at School Library Journal and as soon as I was finished I wondered how many more kids would be readers if some of their formative book experiences happened in environments like those. Absolutely beautiful.
When I read that Maira Kalman was involved in the design of the last library mentioned in the article, I went a-hunting and found this video, which has reconfirmed for me that Maira Kalman is AWESOME. Check it out:
Gives me goosebumps. If only every library ever was as inspiring and purty and whimsical.
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1. Vikki | May 6, 2011 at 10:57 am
This gave me goosebumps, too! Thanks for making my day
2. The English Teacher | May 7, 2011 at 3:20 pm
Wow. That shade of green is appalling. And all the dark. Ugh. Well, I’m just glad my school library didn’t look like that when I was a child. That certainly doesn’t look kid-friendly to me!
Did anyone ask the children what they liked? Colors? Shapes?
When we had money to redecorate our junior high school library about 12 years ago, the students were given several options and voted on a jungle theme. Hence, our comfy sofas and chairs all have subtle animal prints on them. The library is light, not dark as the one in this clip is, and very inviting.
Sorry to rant, but that library featured in the clip makes me want to run the other way as fast as possible. Even the bookshelves look uninviting to me.
3. shelfelf | May 8, 2011 at 8:39 am
You might be interested in taking a look at some of the other libraries featured in the SLJ article because there are many diverse designs that were highlighted. I suppose that’s what makes design interesting – not everyone is going to agree.
It’s great that your students were given a chance to voice their opinions in the library renovation. That gives them real ownership of the place. Sounds beautiful!