Voices of Experience: Opportunities to Influence Creatively the Designing of School Libraries

Abstract

The voices of experience study considered school libraries as social and cultural entities within the contexts of school life and of wider society, such that school library designing becomes a social interaction of concern to those influenced by its practices and outcomes. School library designing is therefore regarded as significant primarily to users such as educators and students, as well as to those with professionally accredited involvement, such as designers/architects and education facility planners. The study contends that current approaches to educational space designing, including school libraries, work to amplify the voices of accredited designers and diminish or silence the voices of users.