11.19.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:13 pm by Greg Landgraf
American Libraries is now accepting submissions for our annual Library Design Showcase, to be published in the April 2010 issue.
This is a showcase of new and newly renovated or expanded libraries of all types. Roughly 30 of the best construction projects of the year will be highlighed in this major AL feature.
To be considered, send the completed submission form ([PDF] or [Word] format), along with color photos, 35mm slides, or high-resolution digital images, to: American Libraries, Attn: Architecture Showcase, American Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. The deadline is February 1, 2010, and to be eligible, projects must have been completed after October 1, 2008.
Online Submissions
You can also submit online via YouSendIt.
First, I recommend you use WinZip or a similar compression application to compress your files into a single file. YouSendIt only allows one file of up to 100 MB to be sent at a time on a free account, so you may need to make a couple different files if they are very large.
Second, you will need to sign up for a free YouSendIt account to use the system. To do so, go to www.yousendit.com, click the “Sign Up” button, and sign up for the free “Lite” account. The system will ask you fairly standard account-creation questions (username, password, real name, and the like) and send you a conformation e-mail with the activation link.
Once you’ve activated your account, log in and click the “Send” button. In the “To:” field, enter my address, glandgraf@ala.org. Input a subject and message if you wish, and click the “Browse” button to find and attach your file. Then click “Send It” and your files will be on their way. (You’ll be given premium, and paid, delivery options; they are not required to send the files and I suggest you ignore them.)
What We’re Looking For
Shortly after the February 1 deadline, a group of editors and designers will meet to go through all of the submissions—we’ve received about 70 each of the past three years—to select the approximately 30 projects that will be featured in the pages of American Libraries. We’re looking for visual appeal, interesting stories, and variety in the libraries we include. In other words, the quality of photos and the project description are the most important parts of the submission form. For digital photos, this means a resolution of 300 dpi is critical, and they need to be large. The smallest photos that we ran last year, with the exception of shots of architectural details, were about 4 inches by 3 inches.
The best way I can describe what the project descriptions should entail is: They should be what you’d tell a friend or a colleague when you’re bragging about your new library. Interesting construction details, favorite features, or intriguing snippets about how the space gets used are all good things to include. I’ll be distilling those facts into the descriptive text that accompanies each photo.
If you have a new or renovated facility, I hope you’ll consider submitting it. If you have any questions, or if you have a facility that’s still in progress and you want to receive an e-mail notification when we’ve opened submissions for 2010, please leave a comment or drop me an e-mail.
I
Permalink
02.03.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:21 pm by Greg Landgraf
The 60 or so submissions for this year's Library Design Showcase
The beginning of February also means the beginning of Facilities season at AL. The Library Design Showcase in the April issue is one of the largest individual articles of the year, and with the deadline for submissions passing yesterday, the bulk of the work on this end starts now. AL editors and designers will meet soon to select the projects and the photos that will be included in the showcase; from there, it’s a relatively straightforward process of pulling as much information about each project as possible into a few sentences. In addition to the print Facilities issue, we are also planning a second AL digital supplement, the better to showcase your success stories.
Of course, the library building itself isn’t the only part of a new building or renovation project. Retired librarian Gary Huggens recently wrote with the suggestion that we incorporate more coverage of library gardens and landscapes. “Since I am now a landscape designer who is especially interested in creating wildlife habitat and sustainability in landscapes, I thought this kind of news (and pictures) would be a wonderful thing for AL to collect from libaries nationwide to share with everyone in the profession. It would help transplant ideas from one library to many other libraries, and help to promote better environmental stewardship by libraries in their communities and on their own turf, so to speak.”
In last year’s showcase, there were a few mentions of interesting landscape features, and many of the external photographs naturally showed some of the green spaces around the libraries. But the lawns and gardens were never the focus.
So from there, I ask you: Should they be? Are you interested in reading more about library landscapes, gardens, and wildlife habitats? And if so, what do you want to see? I’d also welcome hearing your successes or lessons learned, either in comments or by e-mail to glandgraf@ala.org.
I’ll start it off with one bit of advice from Huggens: “I’d imagine that even in these budget-strapped times most libraries could count on volunteers and local plant centers or nurseries to give their landscapes a boost with native plants and sustainable approaches, which save money and time.”
Permalink
01.06.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:17 am by Greg Landgraf
I am pleased to announce that you can now submit your new and renovated buildings for American Libraries’ April Library Design Showcase online.
We’ve bought a YouSendIt account to handle the very large files that this entails. As a result, sending the files will be slightly more complicated than simply sending an e-mail—but not much, and hopefully less involved than having to assemble a package for snail mail.
First off, I recommend you use WinZip or a similar compression application to compress your files—a selection of high-quality interior and exterior pictures and the submission form (or a word document containing the information)—into a single file. YouSendIt only allows one file of up to 100 MB to be sent at a time on a free account, so you may need to make a couple different files if they are very large.
Second, you will need to sign up for a free YouSendIt account to use the system. To do so, go to www.yousendit.com, click the “Sign Up” button, and sign up for the free “Lite” account. The system will ask you fairly standard account-creation questions (username, password, real name, and the like) and send you a conformation e-mail with the activation link.
Once you’ve activated your account, log in and click the “Send” button. In the “To:” field, enter my address, glandgraf@ala.org. Input a subject and message if you wish, and click the “Browse” button to find and attach your file. Then click “Send It” and your files will be on their way. (You’ll be given premium, and paid, delivery options; I suggest you ignore them.)
As this is the first time trying this experiment, I plan to send an e-mail confirmation of receipt for all online submissions. So if you don’t receive that, generally within a business day, something has gone wrong and please send a follow-up message to me at glandgraf@ala.org.
As this is something of an experiment, please share your comments, problems, or suggestions.
And as a reminder, submissions are due February 2.
Permalink
