{"id":18,"date":"2026-06-23T01:23:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T01:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/?p=18"},"modified":"2026-06-23T01:23:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T01:23:08","slug":"assignment-x-four-spaces-of-the-public-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/2026\/06\/23\/assignment-x-four-spaces-of-the-public-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Assignment X: Four Spaces of the Public Library"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Reading the history of the Four Space Model\u2019s development sparked my interest. I\u2019ve always enjoyed brainstorming ideas, sketching, collaborating with others, and seeing the final \u201cproduct\u201d come to life. The Four Space Model was developed by Dorte Skot-Hansen and her colleagues, associate professors Casper Hvenegaard Rasmussen and Henrik Jochumsen. This committee was formed to explore new roles for public libraries and lifelong learning, and to help integrate new and emerging digital technologies. To give some context, according to Jochumsen et al., during that time, many library branches in Denmark closed due to municipal reform and reductions in the number of municipalities and public spending. This framework helped discuss the value of the public library at the beginning of a new digital era and served as a tool for redesigning and developing the library.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">The Four Space Model has four main goals:<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">Experience<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">Involvement<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">Empowerment<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">Innovation\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">This also includes four other overlapping \u201crooms\u201d that can be viewed as either physical or virtual spaces. They are:\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">Inspiration Space<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">Learning Space<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">Meeting Space<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">Performative Space<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div id=\"attachment_19\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19\" class=\"wp-image-19 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/555\/2026\/06\/Four-Space-Model.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/555\/2026\/06\/Four-Space-Model.png 1024w, https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/555\/2026\/06\/Four-Space-Model-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/555\/2026\/06\/Four-Space-Model-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-19\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/span> <span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">Four Space Model recreated using Canva.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Experience and Involvement center on one\u2019s journey as they integrate into their community. As for Empowerment, it centers on individuals to solve everyday problems. Innovation helps create new concepts and methods that can boost artistic expression. These four goals can assist libraries in creating opportunities for the overlapping areas. These areas invite patrons to engage with one another by learning new things and heightening their creativity.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 As explained by Jochumsen et al., these things cannot be considered in isolation; they must be seen as overlapping functions that interact in the library space, both physically and virtually. The model indicates possibilities for experiencing, discovering, participating, and creating that a new library must offer its users.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 After learning more about this model, I can understand why it&#8217;s still a relevant tool for public libraries and for anyone involved in this type of environment to use as a foundation. This model continues to help Libraries structure their physical spaces and digital elements, making them more accessible and inclusive as times change. I know this model focuses on the environment and the space, but I think it can be a helpful tool that librarians can refer to when feeling \u201cstuck.\u201d What I mean is that if they notice an area in the library that needs to be rearranged because it is no longer serving its \u201cpurpose,\u201d this diagram can help them reevaluate the space. What the new space can offer and how it can better serve the community. I feel like this can also be used when deciding whether to create and host workshops, how we would like the community to engage with each other, and how we can use the space to create a fun, interactive environment that encourages community participation.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;, times, serif\">Jochumsen, H., Hvenegaard Rasmussen, C., &amp; Skot\u2010Hansen, D. (2012). The four spaces \u2013 a new model for the public library. New Library World, 113(11\/12), 586\u2013597. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/03074801211282948\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/03074801211282948<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Reading the history of the Four Space Model\u2019s development sparked my interest. I\u2019ve always enjoyed brainstorming ideas, sketching, collaborating with others, and seeing the final \u201cproduct\u201d come to life. The Four Space Model was developed &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/2026\/06\/23\/assignment-x-four-spaces-of-the-public-library\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":830,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/830"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18\/revisions\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/futurabibliotecaria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}