Types of libraries

Abstract

In this research the question is; What different types of public library where being developed in the post war period from 1960 to 1980? Starting with a chapter on the history of libraries, about the different systems and actors that can be found in the library. Then a chapter on how types make it possible to distinguish and separate different buildings from each other, by means of the classification systems of form, function and space. This is followed by a case study of analyses of libraries from Wassenaar, Utrecht, Leeuwarden, Deventer, Den Haag, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, where the previous chapters work as an instrument to the analysis. This research shows that the type of public libraries being developed in the post war period from 1960 tot 1980 are on a spectrum from monofunctionality to multifunctionality and the number of floors and the order of size of the library. On one side of the spectrum are small libraries with only the primary functions of lending and reading books. On the other side are large libraries with in addition to the primary functions a whole range of secondary functions.