Did you see the recent cover story on “O, the Oprah Magazine,” featuring her home library?

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, there has been a resurgence in the popularity of the home library. Libraries are replacing dens in new home models. According to a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders, “63% of home buyers said they wanted a library, or considered one essential.”

For the full article, click here.

When architect Curt Lamb was called on to design a living room addition to this bungalow-style home in West Newton, Mass., the hundreds of books stacked and scattered around the home led him to the idea of designing a two-story library instead.

For a slideshow of home libraries, click here.

I’ve been writing and thinking a lot about libraries and the future, so this blog by Australian librarian Tom Goodfellow caught my eye. He compares the depiction of libraries in some science-fiction film classics, including Time Machine and Soylent Green.

“The astonishing trust displayed in libraries by science fiction film-makers reveals a faith in the public library ethos apparently unaffected by the disillusion with other government agencies, and indeed human nature, so evident in this form of cinema. Somehow, the form which places imagination above all else finds it impossible to imagine a deliberately biased or devious library. It is an indication of the respect with which the public library movement is held by the population as a whole.”

Full article can be found at: Revelations.

It has been ten years since the Richmond Public Library was dubbed the “Library of the Future” for its innovation. Changes instituted at this small branch library have been emulated at libraries across the country, including many New Jersey libraries.

“The willingness to change among librarians came after surveys of patrons found that they rarely raved about the depth of a collection or its organization.They tend to come and spend time at a library where there are friendly people, some comfortable seating,” said Sarabeth Kalajian, who heads the library system for Sarasota County. “Maybe some aspect of the collection is important to them, but it’s mainly just their basic need for information.”

For the full article, click here.