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(3) Planning library buildings for Nigerian Universities
ht. Libr. RGU.(1975) 7, 67-76
(3) Planning Library Buildings for Nigerian Universities RALPH
NWAMEFOR*
Since the late fifties, but particularly in the early sixties, there had been a rapid growth, not only in the number of Nigerian universities and those attending them, but also in the students’ appetite for services. The accommodation, financial resources, and administrative ingenuity of these institutions have alike been under pressure, not only from the instant problem, but still more from the prospect of the vastly greater demands lying ahead, as the governments’ plans for expanding the nation’s facilities for higher education begin to take shape. So we had in those years a considerable increase in library expenditure (though not in the ratio it bears to total university expenditure), a general trend towards longer hours of opening and an unprecedented activity in building. Anyone who has observed the progress of Nigerian university libraries for, at least, the past one-and-a-half decades will notice that their buildings have often grown to their full use much quicker than would be the case in either Europe or North America. The danger in a situation of this kind is that immediate pressures may result in piecemeal, short-term measures, whose lack of co-ordination ultimately defeats the ends they were intended to serve. The university library building has therefore become a nagging problem, especially in Nigeria, where it already confronts a number of her higher institutions and will perplex more during the next few years. The need, then, is for a hard forwardlooking thought about the problem as a whole in all its aspects. EXPANSION
PRESSURE
ON
PRESENT
BUILDINGS
The old wing of the present University of Ibadan Library came into use in 1954. To echo John Dean, “this is the most notable of the older * Sub-librarian,
Univenity
of Nigeria,
Nsukka,
Nigeria.
68
R.
NWAMEFOR
West African university library buildings.“1 Designed by Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew, it is the most beautiful and the most ingeniously designed building of its kind in tropical Africa, in very marked contrast to the Library of the University of Ghana opened later in 1958. But by 1963, serious thought was already being given at Ibadan to a considerable expansion of this building. The Nnamdi Azikiwe Library at Nsukka came into use only in 1962. By 1965, its librarians were already in serious need of more space and soon started complaining aloud about this. Although her University Librarian and Vice-Chancellor had, by 1966, agreed on a number of improvizations that would have made available a little more space, this could not be implemented owing to the civil war. This library has now been officially declared inadequate and may be eventually abandoned altogether. Nsukka has accepted the idea of an entirely new building to be ready probably by 1979; a building which can hold 1000000 volumes, with accommodation for at least 2000 readers, is envisaged. Meanwhile, in order to mitigate the immediate space problems, a prefabricated building of 7500 sq. ft. is now being built and should be ready for use by September 1974. The Kashim Ibrahim Library, the central library of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (designed originally for a polytechnic), was opened in August 1962, but was already by 1965 experiencing an urgent need for an increase of accommodation which has been accentuated by the rapid expansion of stock in the constituent libraries of the university: that is, Kashim Ibrahim Library, President Kennedy Library, Institute of Agriculture Research Library, Samaru, and Abdullahi Bayer0 College Library, Kano. Total Zaria stock had, by then, risen to 110000 volumes, and annual accession was well over 20 000. The bound periodicals, right now, are shelved away in an adjoining block originally designed for teaching, which also houses the library bindery and some offices. Writings on library buildings usually recommend that librarians should plan at least 25 years ahead. 2 The period of 25 years in library building design is that in which fundamental conceptions are not likely to change; beyond that, it is not easy to project the use of a building very far into the future. With this criterion in view, it would be seen that the nine- and three-year periods in the Ibadan and Nsukka examples above, are both too short, with consequent wasteful expenditure. This short life span coupled with the functional deficiency of the 1 Dean, A. J. E. (1970). Organization and services of university libraries in West Africa. In Comparative and International Librarianship (Ed. Jackson, M.M.). P. 133. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Publishing Corporation. 2 Ogunsheye, F. A. (1969). Objectives and standards of practice for public libraries in West Africa. In Standardsfor West African Libraries (Ed. Dean, J.) : proceedings of a seminar held 15-16 April 1967. P. 60. Ibadan: University of Ibadan Institute of Librarianship.
NIGERIAN
69
STUDIES
buildings strongly suggest the non-participation of librarians in the planning process and invite a serious review of the subject of university library buildings especially where, as now at Nsukka, the matter is receiving serious attention. At Zaria, a new and bigger building is already in progress and may be completed soon after 1974. This point about involving the librarian in the planning process was among the resolutions on buildings of the 1964 Leverhume Conference.1 Unless the librarian takes the time to write a programme and detail the various functional aspects of the university library, its required storage and traffic capacities, the various areas required and their inter-relationships, a workable solution will not be easily found, and efficient interior planning may be impossible. It must be stressed that a library is a service institution, not a monument. Such important factors as acoustics and lighting must be ensured by a librarian who could refer the architect to experts in those fields-particularly those with experience in the requirements peculiar to libraries. An opportunity a university has of setting up a new library building may not come its way again for a much longer time than it may care to imagine, especially with the perennial financial squeeze in universities. Such an opportunity should therefore be fully utilized by setting up buildings that will meet the standard for quite a long time-library buildings that are not only functional and adequate for the next 25 years or more but which will also be aesthetically satisfactory. AESTHETIC
VERSUS
FUNCTIONAL
EFFECT
Prior to 1920, considerable weight was given to architectural effect in library construction and minor attention to functional requirements. Monumental buildings were constructed which were architecturally impressive, but which were not well suited to their purpose as libraries. The rationale behind this striving for monumental effect was that a university library should stand for more than mere access to culture; it should, by virtue of its imposing appearance, present a symbol of its aesthetic leadership in the university and even in the community. Its building, furnishings, colours and general atmosphere should stand as a living and current representation of the cultural status of the age and the vital present-day energies that have created and are creating it. A critic has discussed the serious functional and architectural shortcomings of new library buildings, extravagance and waste resulting from the penchant of Soviet architects for ornamental but useless frontal and side porticos 1 Varley, D. H. (1965). Bulletin for Libraries, 19, 73.
Conference
of university
libraries
in
tropical
Africa.
UIWCO
70
R.
NWAMEFOR
supported by columns, and generally slipshod construction methods employed despite the vast amount of time (3-5 years) it often takes to complete such large libraries.1 Today, the emphasis has changed. A number of factors have been responsible for the change in attitude with regard to monumental buildings. Perhaps, the most important is the need for economy both in construction and in administration, and the growing realization of the importance of flexibility and compactness in interior arrangement. From an architectural or aesthetic view-point, it is considered desirable that the university library should be attractive and should harmonize within reasonable limits with the prevailing type of architecture on the campus. Beyond this, however, architectural manifestations should be subordinated to the demands of functional utility. There is a growing realization in West Africa of the principles underlying the modern trends in planning a library building-that form must follow function; that a building must be both externally and internally flexible in order to accommodate changes in patterns of library service; and that the building must be compact and not too fragmented for easy supervision. The newer library buildings in Nigerian universities, to some extent, reflect the acceptance of these principles. The University of Lagos library for example, is modular and square in structure; and although it is four stories high, it has an extremely flexible interior and provision for future expansion. ORGANIZATION
AND
CONTROL
One of the essential characteristics of a functional library building is the accessibility of all parts with a minimum of effort and a minimum of disturbance. If planning is to produce satisfactory traffic patterns, it must take into account problems of supervision and control of the building and its exits, facilities for communication and vertical transportation, and means of minimizing noise and other distractions. Control means more than efficient operation of book circulation, record maintenance, filing and processing, etc.-it also means visual control of the various areas. Particularly in university libraries, it is important to maintain control of all areas without direct supervision. In a large library, a certain amount of departmentalization will, of course, be required. Even among various areas and departments it is sometimes possible to combine supervising capacities by intelligent interior planning. In the general plan, it is often possible to keep the various areas 1 Horecky, P. L. (1959). Libraries and Bibliograjhic ton D.C. : Council on Library Resources.
Centres in the Sooiet Union. P. 64. Washing-
NIGERIAN
STUDIES
71
open to one another, yet operationally separate, by care&l integration of colour and acoustics. It should be stressed that the problem of control should be studied and solved, in the interior planning programme, with an endeavour to maintain subtlety throughout. Any obvious aspect of militant supervision should be avoided, since one of the basic objectives of a university library is to help the students gain maturity through their own efforts. Ease and convenience of use is a matter of prime importance. Convenience is even more important in a university library where the necessarily large and complex areas for reading, for public service and for book storage may seem mazelike in character. These relationships, which have a close connection with the organization and service pattern of the library, must be clearly stated in the programme because the architect, even if he is acquainted with library procedures, would otherwise have no way of knowing any special inter-relationship desired by the librarian and his staff. LOCATION
PROBLEMS
A discussion of the location problems (that is, of sections within a library building) can well begin with the central services, by which is meant, the circulation desk, the reference and bibliography collections, the periodical indexes, and the card catalogue. These key services should be easy to find, and the reader should be able to reach any one of them quickly and easily, or go from one to the other in the pursuit of his work without having to move from one floor to another or even cover great distance on the same floor. Since the modern library (like the modern supermarket) is designed for self service, we have to make the readers feel at home in it and be able to find their way around. A good number of our undergraduates come into the library primarily to find a place to read their own books or to obtain and read a reserved book, so that the general reading areas and the reserve-book collection should be easily found and reached. Another large group is represented by the reader who comes to look for a particular book. Where such a reader decides to take such a book home instead of reading it in the library, the circulation desk comes up for use. This can all be summed up by saying that if each of these central services, excluding, of course, the main bookstack collection, can be near the main entrance and readily located, a large part of the battle is won. If a library can be so planned that at least the part of the processing staff that makes frequent use of the catalogue can be housed close to it, the arrangement would be a great time-saving convenience. It should be remembered that vertical movement is normally more difficult and
72
R.
NWAMEFOR
time-consuming than horizontal movement, and that the climbing of staircases is usually unpopular among library users. And besides, there is not much land-hunger yet in tropical countries where elevators are expensive and cause delays. As a result, there has been a strong and desirable tendency in recent years to plan the central services on the entrance level of the library. Contrary to this tendency the Nnamdi Azikiwe Library has its circulation desk on the first floor, after the first flight of steps, an arrangement which compels all who may like to borrow from, for example, the ground floor stacks to go up and down these steps just to get the materials stamped out before they can leave with them. Once again, a comparison of the old and new wings of Ibadan University Library, will illustrate the advantages of the current trend: whereas the old wing has five floors, the new wing has only two. The result is that both the elevator and the tiring Aight of steps that feature in the old wing are eliminated in the new. The new wing is therefore able to cut off a lot of the difficulties and time-wastage consequent upon the vertical movement in the old wing, without any loss in space, since its 56000 square feet compares favourably with the 46000 square feet of the old wing and its total capacity of approximately 275000 volumes brings the total capacity of both wings to half a million (500000) volumes. SPACE
REQUIREMENTS
A university library building should be so designed as to supply adequate and efficient accommodation for materials, readers and staff. In calculating the areas required, it is usual to provide 1 sq. ft. for every 10 volumes, 25 sq. ft. for every reader sitting in open reading areas, 50 sq. ft. for every reader sitting in carrels, and 100 sq. ft. for every member of the library staff. After the total areas have been worked out, based on these calculations, another 30% is added for non-assignable space such as corridors, lavatories, staircases and so on.1 Most libraries, except very small ones, are seriously deficient with regard to this provision of library internal environment. The internal environment of a library is mainly its internal space related to furniture, because it is on furniture that one sits and reads and works, and shelves the books; so all library functions revolve around furniture. There is pathetically little good specialized library furniture outside the world of shelving. The building should be such that use of its various areas is flexible and can be adapted to changing needs. 1 Metcalf, K. D. (1965). McGraw-Hill.
Planning
Academic
and Research Library
Buildings.
P. 75. New
York:
NIGERIAN FIXED
VERSUS
73
STUDIES FLEXIBLE
INTERIOR
Flexibility, in one sense at least, is a very expensive commodity. Someone is credited with the remark that the least one owes one’s successors is not to hamper them from correcting his mistakes.1 True flexibilitystandard floor loading which will take stacks anywhere, wiring all over the place, high lighting intensities everywhere so that one’s successor can change the library completely-all this, surely, is too easy an answer. One must plump for subject department organization, for instance, and design the building for that; or non-subject department organization and design the building for that. It can be argued that it would be pointless to go for even a large degree of flexibility in an entire building. One can identify the areas where flexibility will not be required. These are nearly always the areas most heavily serviced, such as lavatories. The most important contribution towards flexibility is in the public spaces, in having few fixed structural points and demountable partitions, so that what alterations do become necessary can be made without any major alterations to the structure. In a really flexible building one should abandon the window as a means of lighting the areas in which reading is to take place; there could just be vision slits instead. Inside walls are not even indispensable. Walls achieve two things: they give aural and visual privacy. Both these ends can be achieved without using walls and in a much cheaper way. Aural privacy may be achieved in three ways: (a) by having acoustic treatment on the floor by use of carpet; (b) by having acoustic treatment on the ceiling by use of acoustic tiles, and (c) by permitting a certain noise level. Some librarians argue about the introduction or the allowance of a certain noise level in a library. But this is a much more normal social way of living provided that there can be some areas where silence is provided. These days, the quiet research atmosphere has to be maintained in the teeth of people’s wish to tape, type, dictate or discuss their subjects of study. One envisages a use of sound-proof carrels which will closet readers with their clatter and prevent them from disturbing the rest of the library. It is even questionable if the function of the college or university library is sufficient as it pursues its role as a concentrate for academic requirements-and nothing more. Some contend that such a library, with such a variance of extraneous diversions like the increasingly popular student union building, should attempt to 1 Ward, H. (Ed.) (1969). Better Library Design: proceedings of a seminar organized London and Home Counties Branch of the London : The Library Association (London
Buila’ings: Architect/Librarian Co-ojeration in thtir by the Architect/Librarian Working Party of the Library Association, 14-15 March 1969. P. 78. & Home Counties Branch).
74
R.
NWAMEFOR
encompass a greater portion of student activity, include and absorb other recreational activities beyond those which are purely studious in nature.1 To a large extent, the decisions taken as to the type of services that the university library should provide, the size of the book collection, and the nature and size of the staff will determine the ultimate size and design of the building. CLIMATIC
FACTORS
The tropics are characterized, in the main, by relatively high temperatures combined with excessive humidity, long periods of intense solar radiation, heavy rainfall concentrated in relatively brief periods, small variations in temperature, and in some areas, by distinct prevailing breezes. Protection against this solar radiation and humidity determines, therefore, the elements of design and construction of tropical libraries. The objectives are to provide shade, keep the air temperature down, prevent desiccation, and keep out intense heat radiated from the ground and surrounding buildings. A strong vertical treatment of facades creates satisfyingly deep shadows. It is not always possible, even in the tropics to site a library ideally. The ideal siting would seem to be north-south, as at Nsukka, Ile-Ife, Ibadan and Zaria, where small overhangs would ward off the sun’s rays from the north and south facades most of the time. Elevations facing south-east, north-east, north-west, and south-west require a mixture of vertical and horizontal shading devices. East-west elevations are the most difficult since they face low morning and evening sun and only solid vertical obstructions can keep the low solar rays from the windows. Makerere College Library, in Uganda, for instance faces north-east and south-west and at certain times of the year it catches the low setting and rising sun which penetrates directly through the pierced ceramic grille screens, so that curtains are necessary. Sun control devices are the most noticeable feature of tropical and semi-tropical libraries. They are meant to intercept the rays of the sun before the heat becomes trapped inside the buildings thus rendering their interior uncomfortable for users. They may be verandahs, eyebrow projections, pierced screens and walls, hoods, egg-crates, vertical and horizontal fins or shutters. Some are adjustable. In the old wing of the University of Ibadan Library and the main building at Zaria, the pierced sun screen is the wall; there is no glazing, rain and damp air being controlled by doors between the outer wall and the book stacks. 1 Van Buren, Research Libraries
M. (1956). 17, 231-2.
Interior
planning
of college
and university
libraries.
College and
NIGERIAN
75
STUDIES
At Nsukka, the effect of the rain and sun on the shelved books has been so devastating that Venetian blinds had to be introduced. This had the undesirable effect of shutting out the air as well as the natural light, thereby necessitating the use of electric light most of the time. But since those blinds were among the losses of the library during the civil war, the problem is there again as ever before, together with the insect problem which is worst in tropical libraries.1 Today, it requires a good deal of ingenuity to invent a new sun control device. In damp or dry areas like our tropics humidity control is needed. Above-average temperature and low humidity do cause the drying of paper and warping of bindings. The ideal humidity for the preservation of books is 45-50%. If the relative humidity is a long way above or below this range for long periods control is vital for the long-term survival of library stock, and it is absolutely essential for rare and expensive books and for audio-visual materials. Air-conditioning greatly affects tropical design. It is typical of those tropical libraries which are not air-conditioned that they are generally one-room wide to insure cross-ventilation. They tend, therefore, to be long and narrow. About a decade ago, air-conditioning of an entire building was considered out of the question because of cost and the uncertainly about maintenance, “. . . but today, it is the only standard now acceptable for a university library building in this part of the world. Anything else will, in the long run, be unacceptable because whatever happens to readers, book collections will not survive.2 The librarian of the University of Rangoon reports that only air-conditioning is able to maintain books in his stack in good condition.“3 Even now, great expense due to the high cost of electricity in Nigeria, has led wellmeaning librarians to advise that the adoption oflibrary air-conditioning as a standard for Nigerian universities be a phased operation to be totally accomplished by say, 1980.4 It is, however, claimed that airconditioning allows such substantial reductions in the height of rooms that the total savings may pay for the air-conditioning installations. So far, only the new wing of Ibadan University Library, the University of Benin Library and the Yakubu Gowon Library of Lagos University are completely air-conditioned. But breakdowns in the supply of 1 Plumbe, W. J. (1964). Preservation of Books in Tropical and Sub-tropical Climates. London : Oxford University Press. s Dean, J. (Ed.) (1969). Stanhrdsfor West Afrian Libraries: proceedings. P. 12. Ibadan: University of Ibadan Institute of Librarianship. s Holdsworth, H. (1959). Library buildings in newly developing countries. Library Trends,
8, 286. 4 Dean, University
J. (Ed.) of Ibadan
(1969). Stir& for West Institute of Librarianship.
African Libraries:
proceedings.
P. 43. Ibadan:
76
R.
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electricity appear to be common in these, making it wise to install sliding rather than fixed windows as a precaution against such occurrences, although such sliding windows do not adequately ventilate the large air-conditioned rooms when the breakdowns occur. If only partial airconditioning is possible, the librarian tends to favour his stock rather than his readers. In designing our university library buildings, therefore, air-conditioning must be seriously considered since it is neither easy nor economical to install it later in a building not originally planned for it. CONCLUSION
Planning an academic library building is an important undertaking which, apart from the Nigerian universities, will confront many other tropical institutions in the decades ahead. A poor building can seriously handicap students and dons; a good one can very effectively contribute to the intellectual health of its whole institution. Buildings are expensive, and one poorly planned and constructed can force a library, year after year, to spend much more on operation and maintenance than it would have taken to set up an adequate one right from the start. Functional efficiency, proper handling of materials and colour, careful selection of equipment and furnishings, intelligent architectural and interior planning-all of these factors interrelate within the organization and development of the building programme, and each is essential to the creation of a successful library. In recent years, university library buildings in more developed countries have followed the success of the “Learning Centre” concept of their secondary schools. Notably at their newly-established campuses, but also at some older ones, the learning centre combines in one facility the traditional library lending and reference services with the newer communications technology through electromechanical devices. In the future, more libraries may take on this role of “instructional” or “learning centre” as dial-access and computer-assisted instruction systems are added to the more traditional functions of printed media. The building problems of such centres are simply those of ever-increasing flexibility. To the need for providing A exibility in air-conditioning, lighting and partitioning, must be added the capacity of carrying audio-video signals throughout the building and indeed, outside the building to other parts of the university campus. Such a building is but the first step towards an electromechanical communications network of service on a local, national, and international basis. Thus the library of the future, even in this part of the world, may truly be not a “place” but a far-flung system of interconnected facilities and stations.
(3) Planning Library Buildings for Nigerian Universities RALPH
NWAMEFOR*
Since the late fifties, but particularly in the early sixties, there had been a rapid growth, not only in the number of Nigerian universities and those attending them, but also in the students’ appetite for services. The accommodation, financial resources, and administrative ingenuity of these institutions have alike been under pressure, not only from the instant problem, but still more from the prospect of the vastly greater demands lying ahead, as the governments’ plans for expanding the nation’s facilities for higher education begin to take shape. So we had in those years a considerable increase in library expenditure (though not in the ratio it bears to total university expenditure), a general trend towards longer hours of opening and an unprecedented activity in building. Anyone who has observed the progress of Nigerian university libraries for, at least, the past one-and-a-half decades will notice that their buildings have often grown to their full use much quicker than would be the case in either Europe or North America. The danger in a situation of this kind is that immediate pressures may result in piecemeal, short-term measures, whose lack of co-ordination ultimately defeats the ends they were intended to serve. The university library building has therefore become a nagging problem, especially in Nigeria, where it already confronts a number of her higher institutions and will perplex more during the next few years. The need, then, is for a hard forwardlooking thought about the problem as a whole in all its aspects. EXPANSION
PRESSURE
ON
PRESENT
BUILDINGS
The old wing of the present University of Ibadan Library came into use in 1954. To echo John Dean, “this is the most notable of the older * Sub-librarian,
Univenity
of Nigeria,
Nsukka,
Nigeria.
68
R.
NWAMEFOR
West African university library buildings.“1 Designed by Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew, it is the most beautiful and the most ingeniously designed building of its kind in tropical Africa, in very marked contrast to the Library of the University of Ghana opened later in 1958. But by 1963, serious thought was already being given at Ibadan to a considerable expansion of this building. The Nnamdi Azikiwe Library at Nsukka came into use only in 1962. By 1965, its librarians were already in serious need of more space and soon started complaining aloud about this. Although her University Librarian and Vice-Chancellor had, by 1966, agreed on a number of improvizations that would have made available a little more space, this could not be implemented owing to the civil war. This library has now been officially declared inadequate and may be eventually abandoned altogether. Nsukka has accepted the idea of an entirely new building to be ready probably by 1979; a building which can hold 1000000 volumes, with accommodation for at least 2000 readers, is envisaged. Meanwhile, in order to mitigate the immediate space problems, a prefabricated building of 7500 sq. ft. is now being built and should be ready for use by September 1974. The Kashim Ibrahim Library, the central library of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (designed originally for a polytechnic), was opened in August 1962, but was already by 1965 experiencing an urgent need for an increase of accommodation which has been accentuated by the rapid expansion of stock in the constituent libraries of the university: that is, Kashim Ibrahim Library, President Kennedy Library, Institute of Agriculture Research Library, Samaru, and Abdullahi Bayer0 College Library, Kano. Total Zaria stock had, by then, risen to 110000 volumes, and annual accession was well over 20 000. The bound periodicals, right now, are shelved away in an adjoining block originally designed for teaching, which also houses the library bindery and some offices. Writings on library buildings usually recommend that librarians should plan at least 25 years ahead. 2 The period of 25 years in library building design is that in which fundamental conceptions are not likely to change; beyond that, it is not easy to project the use of a building very far into the future. With this criterion in view, it would be seen that the nine- and three-year periods in the Ibadan and Nsukka examples above, are both too short, with consequent wasteful expenditure. This short life span coupled with the functional deficiency of the 1 Dean, A. J. E. (1970). Organization and services of university libraries in West Africa. In Comparative and International Librarianship (Ed. Jackson, M.M.). P. 133. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Publishing Corporation. 2 Ogunsheye, F. A. (1969). Objectives and standards of practice for public libraries in West Africa. In Standardsfor West African Libraries (Ed. Dean, J.) : proceedings of a seminar held 15-16 April 1967. P. 60. Ibadan: University of Ibadan Institute of Librarianship.
NIGERIAN
69
STUDIES
buildings strongly suggest the non-participation of librarians in the planning process and invite a serious review of the subject of university library buildings especially where, as now at Nsukka, the matter is receiving serious attention. At Zaria, a new and bigger building is already in progress and may be completed soon after 1974. This point about involving the librarian in the planning process was among the resolutions on buildings of the 1964 Leverhume Conference.1 Unless the librarian takes the time to write a programme and detail the various functional aspects of the university library, its required storage and traffic capacities, the various areas required and their inter-relationships, a workable solution will not be easily found, and efficient interior planning may be impossible. It must be stressed that a library is a service institution, not a monument. Such important factors as acoustics and lighting must be ensured by a librarian who could refer the architect to experts in those fields-particularly those with experience in the requirements peculiar to libraries. An opportunity a university has of setting up a new library building may not come its way again for a much longer time than it may care to imagine, especially with the perennial financial squeeze in universities. Such an opportunity should therefore be fully utilized by setting up buildings that will meet the standard for quite a long time-library buildings that are not only functional and adequate for the next 25 years or more but which will also be aesthetically satisfactory. AESTHETIC
VERSUS
FUNCTIONAL
EFFECT
Prior to 1920, considerable weight was given to architectural effect in library construction and minor attention to functional requirements. Monumental buildings were constructed which were architecturally impressive, but which were not well suited to their purpose as libraries. The rationale behind this striving for monumental effect was that a university library should stand for more than mere access to culture; it should, by virtue of its imposing appearance, present a symbol of its aesthetic leadership in the university and even in the community. Its building, furnishings, colours and general atmosphere should stand as a living and current representation of the cultural status of the age and the vital present-day energies that have created and are creating it. A critic has discussed the serious functional and architectural shortcomings of new library buildings, extravagance and waste resulting from the penchant of Soviet architects for ornamental but useless frontal and side porticos 1 Varley, D. H. (1965). Bulletin for Libraries, 19, 73.
Conference
of university
libraries
in
tropical
Africa.
UIWCO
70
R.
NWAMEFOR
supported by columns, and generally slipshod construction methods employed despite the vast amount of time (3-5 years) it often takes to complete such large libraries.1 Today, the emphasis has changed. A number of factors have been responsible for the change in attitude with regard to monumental buildings. Perhaps, the most important is the need for economy both in construction and in administration, and the growing realization of the importance of flexibility and compactness in interior arrangement. From an architectural or aesthetic view-point, it is considered desirable that the university library should be attractive and should harmonize within reasonable limits with the prevailing type of architecture on the campus. Beyond this, however, architectural manifestations should be subordinated to the demands of functional utility. There is a growing realization in West Africa of the principles underlying the modern trends in planning a library building-that form must follow function; that a building must be both externally and internally flexible in order to accommodate changes in patterns of library service; and that the building must be compact and not too fragmented for easy supervision. The newer library buildings in Nigerian universities, to some extent, reflect the acceptance of these principles. The University of Lagos library for example, is modular and square in structure; and although it is four stories high, it has an extremely flexible interior and provision for future expansion. ORGANIZATION
AND
CONTROL
One of the essential characteristics of a functional library building is the accessibility of all parts with a minimum of effort and a minimum of disturbance. If planning is to produce satisfactory traffic patterns, it must take into account problems of supervision and control of the building and its exits, facilities for communication and vertical transportation, and means of minimizing noise and other distractions. Control means more than efficient operation of book circulation, record maintenance, filing and processing, etc.-it also means visual control of the various areas. Particularly in university libraries, it is important to maintain control of all areas without direct supervision. In a large library, a certain amount of departmentalization will, of course, be required. Even among various areas and departments it is sometimes possible to combine supervising capacities by intelligent interior planning. In the general plan, it is often possible to keep the various areas 1 Horecky, P. L. (1959). Libraries and Bibliograjhic ton D.C. : Council on Library Resources.
Centres in the Sooiet Union. P. 64. Washing-
NIGERIAN
STUDIES
71
open to one another, yet operationally separate, by care&l integration of colour and acoustics. It should be stressed that the problem of control should be studied and solved, in the interior planning programme, with an endeavour to maintain subtlety throughout. Any obvious aspect of militant supervision should be avoided, since one of the basic objectives of a university library is to help the students gain maturity through their own efforts. Ease and convenience of use is a matter of prime importance. Convenience is even more important in a university library where the necessarily large and complex areas for reading, for public service and for book storage may seem mazelike in character. These relationships, which have a close connection with the organization and service pattern of the library, must be clearly stated in the programme because the architect, even if he is acquainted with library procedures, would otherwise have no way of knowing any special inter-relationship desired by the librarian and his staff. LOCATION
PROBLEMS
A discussion of the location problems (that is, of sections within a library building) can well begin with the central services, by which is meant, the circulation desk, the reference and bibliography collections, the periodical indexes, and the card catalogue. These key services should be easy to find, and the reader should be able to reach any one of them quickly and easily, or go from one to the other in the pursuit of his work without having to move from one floor to another or even cover great distance on the same floor. Since the modern library (like the modern supermarket) is designed for self service, we have to make the readers feel at home in it and be able to find their way around. A good number of our undergraduates come into the library primarily to find a place to read their own books or to obtain and read a reserved book, so that the general reading areas and the reserve-book collection should be easily found and reached. Another large group is represented by the reader who comes to look for a particular book. Where such a reader decides to take such a book home instead of reading it in the library, the circulation desk comes up for use. This can all be summed up by saying that if each of these central services, excluding, of course, the main bookstack collection, can be near the main entrance and readily located, a large part of the battle is won. If a library can be so planned that at least the part of the processing staff that makes frequent use of the catalogue can be housed close to it, the arrangement would be a great time-saving convenience. It should be remembered that vertical movement is normally more difficult and
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time-consuming than horizontal movement, and that the climbing of staircases is usually unpopular among library users. And besides, there is not much land-hunger yet in tropical countries where elevators are expensive and cause delays. As a result, there has been a strong and desirable tendency in recent years to plan the central services on the entrance level of the library. Contrary to this tendency the Nnamdi Azikiwe Library has its circulation desk on the first floor, after the first flight of steps, an arrangement which compels all who may like to borrow from, for example, the ground floor stacks to go up and down these steps just to get the materials stamped out before they can leave with them. Once again, a comparison of the old and new wings of Ibadan University Library, will illustrate the advantages of the current trend: whereas the old wing has five floors, the new wing has only two. The result is that both the elevator and the tiring Aight of steps that feature in the old wing are eliminated in the new. The new wing is therefore able to cut off a lot of the difficulties and time-wastage consequent upon the vertical movement in the old wing, without any loss in space, since its 56000 square feet compares favourably with the 46000 square feet of the old wing and its total capacity of approximately 275000 volumes brings the total capacity of both wings to half a million (500000) volumes. SPACE
REQUIREMENTS
A university library building should be so designed as to supply adequate and efficient accommodation for materials, readers and staff. In calculating the areas required, it is usual to provide 1 sq. ft. for every 10 volumes, 25 sq. ft. for every reader sitting in open reading areas, 50 sq. ft. for every reader sitting in carrels, and 100 sq. ft. for every member of the library staff. After the total areas have been worked out, based on these calculations, another 30% is added for non-assignable space such as corridors, lavatories, staircases and so on.1 Most libraries, except very small ones, are seriously deficient with regard to this provision of library internal environment. The internal environment of a library is mainly its internal space related to furniture, because it is on furniture that one sits and reads and works, and shelves the books; so all library functions revolve around furniture. There is pathetically little good specialized library furniture outside the world of shelving. The building should be such that use of its various areas is flexible and can be adapted to changing needs. 1 Metcalf, K. D. (1965). McGraw-Hill.
Planning
Academic
and Research Library
Buildings.
P. 75. New
York:
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INTERIOR
Flexibility, in one sense at least, is a very expensive commodity. Someone is credited with the remark that the least one owes one’s successors is not to hamper them from correcting his mistakes.1 True flexibilitystandard floor loading which will take stacks anywhere, wiring all over the place, high lighting intensities everywhere so that one’s successor can change the library completely-all this, surely, is too easy an answer. One must plump for subject department organization, for instance, and design the building for that; or non-subject department organization and design the building for that. It can be argued that it would be pointless to go for even a large degree of flexibility in an entire building. One can identify the areas where flexibility will not be required. These are nearly always the areas most heavily serviced, such as lavatories. The most important contribution towards flexibility is in the public spaces, in having few fixed structural points and demountable partitions, so that what alterations do become necessary can be made without any major alterations to the structure. In a really flexible building one should abandon the window as a means of lighting the areas in which reading is to take place; there could just be vision slits instead. Inside walls are not even indispensable. Walls achieve two things: they give aural and visual privacy. Both these ends can be achieved without using walls and in a much cheaper way. Aural privacy may be achieved in three ways: (a) by having acoustic treatment on the floor by use of carpet; (b) by having acoustic treatment on the ceiling by use of acoustic tiles, and (c) by permitting a certain noise level. Some librarians argue about the introduction or the allowance of a certain noise level in a library. But this is a much more normal social way of living provided that there can be some areas where silence is provided. These days, the quiet research atmosphere has to be maintained in the teeth of people’s wish to tape, type, dictate or discuss their subjects of study. One envisages a use of sound-proof carrels which will closet readers with their clatter and prevent them from disturbing the rest of the library. It is even questionable if the function of the college or university library is sufficient as it pursues its role as a concentrate for academic requirements-and nothing more. Some contend that such a library, with such a variance of extraneous diversions like the increasingly popular student union building, should attempt to 1 Ward, H. (Ed.) (1969). Better Library Design: proceedings of a seminar organized London and Home Counties Branch of the London : The Library Association (London
Buila’ings: Architect/Librarian Co-ojeration in thtir by the Architect/Librarian Working Party of the Library Association, 14-15 March 1969. P. 78. & Home Counties Branch).
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encompass a greater portion of student activity, include and absorb other recreational activities beyond those which are purely studious in nature.1 To a large extent, the decisions taken as to the type of services that the university library should provide, the size of the book collection, and the nature and size of the staff will determine the ultimate size and design of the building. CLIMATIC
FACTORS
The tropics are characterized, in the main, by relatively high temperatures combined with excessive humidity, long periods of intense solar radiation, heavy rainfall concentrated in relatively brief periods, small variations in temperature, and in some areas, by distinct prevailing breezes. Protection against this solar radiation and humidity determines, therefore, the elements of design and construction of tropical libraries. The objectives are to provide shade, keep the air temperature down, prevent desiccation, and keep out intense heat radiated from the ground and surrounding buildings. A strong vertical treatment of facades creates satisfyingly deep shadows. It is not always possible, even in the tropics to site a library ideally. The ideal siting would seem to be north-south, as at Nsukka, Ile-Ife, Ibadan and Zaria, where small overhangs would ward off the sun’s rays from the north and south facades most of the time. Elevations facing south-east, north-east, north-west, and south-west require a mixture of vertical and horizontal shading devices. East-west elevations are the most difficult since they face low morning and evening sun and only solid vertical obstructions can keep the low solar rays from the windows. Makerere College Library, in Uganda, for instance faces north-east and south-west and at certain times of the year it catches the low setting and rising sun which penetrates directly through the pierced ceramic grille screens, so that curtains are necessary. Sun control devices are the most noticeable feature of tropical and semi-tropical libraries. They are meant to intercept the rays of the sun before the heat becomes trapped inside the buildings thus rendering their interior uncomfortable for users. They may be verandahs, eyebrow projections, pierced screens and walls, hoods, egg-crates, vertical and horizontal fins or shutters. Some are adjustable. In the old wing of the University of Ibadan Library and the main building at Zaria, the pierced sun screen is the wall; there is no glazing, rain and damp air being controlled by doors between the outer wall and the book stacks. 1 Van Buren, Research Libraries
M. (1956). 17, 231-2.
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At Nsukka, the effect of the rain and sun on the shelved books has been so devastating that Venetian blinds had to be introduced. This had the undesirable effect of shutting out the air as well as the natural light, thereby necessitating the use of electric light most of the time. But since those blinds were among the losses of the library during the civil war, the problem is there again as ever before, together with the insect problem which is worst in tropical libraries.1 Today, it requires a good deal of ingenuity to invent a new sun control device. In damp or dry areas like our tropics humidity control is needed. Above-average temperature and low humidity do cause the drying of paper and warping of bindings. The ideal humidity for the preservation of books is 45-50%. If the relative humidity is a long way above or below this range for long periods control is vital for the long-term survival of library stock, and it is absolutely essential for rare and expensive books and for audio-visual materials. Air-conditioning greatly affects tropical design. It is typical of those tropical libraries which are not air-conditioned that they are generally one-room wide to insure cross-ventilation. They tend, therefore, to be long and narrow. About a decade ago, air-conditioning of an entire building was considered out of the question because of cost and the uncertainly about maintenance, “. . . but today, it is the only standard now acceptable for a university library building in this part of the world. Anything else will, in the long run, be unacceptable because whatever happens to readers, book collections will not survive.2 The librarian of the University of Rangoon reports that only air-conditioning is able to maintain books in his stack in good condition.“3 Even now, great expense due to the high cost of electricity in Nigeria, has led wellmeaning librarians to advise that the adoption oflibrary air-conditioning as a standard for Nigerian universities be a phased operation to be totally accomplished by say, 1980.4 It is, however, claimed that airconditioning allows such substantial reductions in the height of rooms that the total savings may pay for the air-conditioning installations. So far, only the new wing of Ibadan University Library, the University of Benin Library and the Yakubu Gowon Library of Lagos University are completely air-conditioned. But breakdowns in the supply of 1 Plumbe, W. J. (1964). Preservation of Books in Tropical and Sub-tropical Climates. London : Oxford University Press. s Dean, J. (Ed.) (1969). Stanhrdsfor West Afrian Libraries: proceedings. P. 12. Ibadan: University of Ibadan Institute of Librarianship. s Holdsworth, H. (1959). Library buildings in newly developing countries. Library Trends,
8, 286. 4 Dean, University
J. (Ed.) of Ibadan
(1969). Stir& for West Institute of Librarianship.
African Libraries:
proceedings.
P. 43. Ibadan:
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electricity appear to be common in these, making it wise to install sliding rather than fixed windows as a precaution against such occurrences, although such sliding windows do not adequately ventilate the large air-conditioned rooms when the breakdowns occur. If only partial airconditioning is possible, the librarian tends to favour his stock rather than his readers. In designing our university library buildings, therefore, air-conditioning must be seriously considered since it is neither easy nor economical to install it later in a building not originally planned for it. CONCLUSION
Planning an academic library building is an important undertaking which, apart from the Nigerian universities, will confront many other tropical institutions in the decades ahead. A poor building can seriously handicap students and dons; a good one can very effectively contribute to the intellectual health of its whole institution. Buildings are expensive, and one poorly planned and constructed can force a library, year after year, to spend much more on operation and maintenance than it would have taken to set up an adequate one right from the start. Functional efficiency, proper handling of materials and colour, careful selection of equipment and furnishings, intelligent architectural and interior planning-all of these factors interrelate within the organization and development of the building programme, and each is essential to the creation of a successful library. In recent years, university library buildings in more developed countries have followed the success of the “Learning Centre” concept of their secondary schools. Notably at their newly-established campuses, but also at some older ones, the learning centre combines in one facility the traditional library lending and reference services with the newer communications technology through electromechanical devices. In the future, more libraries may take on this role of “instructional” or “learning centre” as dial-access and computer-assisted instruction systems are added to the more traditional functions of printed media. The building problems of such centres are simply those of ever-increasing flexibility. To the need for providing A exibility in air-conditioning, lighting and partitioning, must be added the capacity of carrying audio-video signals throughout the building and indeed, outside the building to other parts of the university campus. Such a building is but the first step towards an electromechanical communications network of service on a local, national, and international basis. Thus the library of the future, even in this part of the world, may truly be not a “place” but a far-flung system of interconnected facilities and stations.