The Olin College Library was an institutional artifact: it existed because the college needed it to be an accredited program. Despite the large chunk of space it was allotted on Olin’s tiny campus, the library was underutilised, and its resources did not support community members in curricular and extracurricular activities to the greatest extent possible.

Realign the library's resources with the needs and culture of the community.

The library already offered traditional resources, including books, magazines, and online research tools, as well as some non-traditional resources, such as circulating handtools and media equipment.

We focused on transforming the library’s valuable physical space into a more versatile resource for community use.

We identified a lack of diversity in work spaces in the library, and a need for spaces that could accomodate a variety of events.