Selection of Library Sites

I PROVIDING A N E W L I B R A R Y building for a college or university it might be supposed that the logical order of procedure would be to decide that it is needed, then to decide what sort of building it ought to be, and finally to decide where it should be placed. Unfortunately, however, the situation is practically never as simple as this. The availability or nonavailability of a satisfactory site is one of the factors that affect the decision on whether or not to build; this was the case at Harvard when replacement of the central library building was given up more than twenty years ago.1 One can hardly determine how much space is necessary for an adequate site unless one has studied the objectives of the library and projected its future growth. One can hardly judge whether or not a particular location will be reasonably convenient for those who use the library unless one can predict the extent and direction of future physical growth of the institution served by the library. If the institution is in its infancy and there is ample room, it may be wise to select the library site first and to plan the future building program for the whole college or university around it. More often, however, the problem is one of fitting a large building into an existing pattern that may have made no provision for it. It should be emphasized also that one cannot design a satisfactory building and then look about for a parking space, if one is required, that is large enough and