Visual Communications in Public Libraries - User Conquest of Space.

The topic of this work is independent motion of users through the holdings of public libraries. The fact is that the mass media have established a new way of thinking in humans, the consequence of which is a new kind of orientation in space, which relies on different visual resources. We anticipate the application of these resources in work with users in public libraries, too. The model that we describe here, provides an optimal time utilization and increased involvement of a library user during his free motion and research of the desired contents, as well as his more active approach to information, without the mediating role of a professional person. Starting from the idea that librarians are designers who make decision about choosing the form of user interaction with the library, the model predicts the use of resources whose range goes from pictograms (iconic concept) to the visual metaphors and visual organization of space. The visualization should help users to search contents of the library holdings quite independently, but also to enable them to access the material easier then before. The solution of this problem, as we see it, lies in the graphic communication panels that are now becoming the bearers of the visual messages, and no longer textual or numeric. Primarily visual, and then the physical organization of the space, as well as of the library material which is in it, placed on shelves, provide a significant contribution to the realization of this goal. The model requires that their position and size respect anthropometric standards, in accordance with the logic of the library materials in question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]