Oxford’s Library Chooses Its First New Chair Design Since 1936
Oxford’s Bodleian library—aka the Bod—is one of England’s largest libraries, a 414-year-old research hub steeped in tradition and history. For example, only three types of chair have ever been designed for use inside its walls. Until now, that is: According to Co.Design, the library has chosen a fourth design to replace its older models.
Why is the Bod choosing to inaugurate a new chair now, 77 years after its last model was designed? Because one of its buildings is currently undergoing a major renovation—and each major revamp has seen the introduction of a new chair. In other words, it’s tradition. After launching a UK-wide call for designs in 2012, the library whittled 60 entries down to six—and finally, they chose a winner: A three-legged wooden chair submitted by London designersEdward Barber and Jay Osgerby.
Michael Sauers is currently the Director of Technology for Do Space in Omaha, NE. Michael has been training librarians in technology for the past twenty years and has also been a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, serials cataloger, technology consultant, and bookseller since earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany’s School of Information Science and Policy. Michael has also written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and his fourteenth book, Emerging Technologies: A Primer for Librarians (w/ Jennifer Koerber) was published in May 2015 and more books are on the way. In his spare time he blogs at travelinlibrarian.info, runs The Collector’s Guide to Dean Koontz Web site, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
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Oxford’s Bodleian library—aka the Bod—is one of England’s largest libraries, a 414-year-old research hub steeped in tradition and history. For example, only three types of chair have ever been designed for use inside its walls. Until now, that is: According to Co.Design, the library has chosen a fourth design to replace its older models.
