Abstract This article reports on a case study of the design of the new Law library at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. The objective was to produce a layout which attempts to minimize expected travel and is convenient for all users, including librarians. The problem differed from most layout studies in two ways. There are three identifiable groups of users of the library: the librarians, the students, and the law professors. Also, the intensity of travel between facilities in the library is location dependent. None of the existing layout methods that the authors tried seemed capable of producing a suitable layout. Using graph theory, the authors developed and implemented a flexible layout approach which led to a successful design. This article summarizes the steps involved, including obtaining a compromise layout which satisfied the needs of the three groups of users.
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