Firm and Project Team

FIRM AND PROJECT TEAM

Aaron Cohen Associates LTD has planned and consulted on more library projects than any other library consulting firm in the United States. We have worked for a wide variety of libraries and library systems and believe we can leverage our experience to provide an exact fit in the study, recommendations and assessments of libraries facilities, technology and services.

Our extensive portfolio of library planning includes more than 1000 facilities. We have worked in urban, suburban and rural areas, and for public, academic, medical, law, research, corporate and governmental libraries.

Our recognized competencies are:  Long Range Master Plans. Strategic Plans. Facility Plans. Service Delivery Plans. Site Selection. Programming. Preliminary Cost Estimating. Community Studies. Workshops/Focus Groups/Town Meetings. Construction Issues/Value Engineering. Systems Integration Scheduling. Marketing Plans. Service Plans. Technology Plans. Operational Efficiency Studies Systems Integration and Audio/Visual Plans. What Makes Our Firm Different?

Experience We began in the early 1970’s when Aaron and Elaine Cohen led their first library space planning workshop and began their consultancy for public and academic libraries. Soon the practice expanded to include law, medical, school, corporate, research and government facilities. We have in-depth knowledge of the ways in which libraries function and their dependence upon their facilities and we shared this with our children too. Indeed, Alexander Cohen joined the team five years ago with a generational view of libraries, computers, knowledge management and life-long learning. His experience in today’s libraries has expanded our understanding of the future of library services, programming and management as well as the need for integrating operational technologies. Our experience is broad: projects have ranged in size from the very small to the very large.

Innovation We have been especially successful in fostering imaginative solutions that balance the resources of the institution with needs of library users and library staffs, their Boards and their funding agencies. This inclusive perspective has yielded exciting programmatic innovations. For example, we were the originators of the concept of the Information Commons. We placed cafes in libraries before selling coffee and lending books became popular. We introduced the concept of public libraries as information-based cultural community centers. Our firm’s on-going research in the behavior modes of library patrons was applied during our fifteen year involvement with the National Library of Singapore and our 7 year involvement with Long Island University. Here, we explored new ways of doing things while focusing on traditional methodologies to help our clients develop the library objectives, and strategies that support successful outcomes.

Attention to Individual Needs Despite our master planning and short range facility improvement experiences, we approach every program and community individually – not with a cookie-cutter or template solution in mind. On every project, we use an “Appreciative Inquiry” approach to frame the discussion. We gain an understanding of the customers and staff by sharing our library research. We inquire about the library’s current strengths and challenges, and help describe strategies for innovation. We plan for successful outcomes by discussing what the community could look like in the future. Indeed, our very first book -- Space Planning And Designing For Libraries -- contained a chapter on human behavior as it relates to the library setting.

Our research has grown more important over the years. We have extensive research on library buildings, pedagogical activities and changing user behaviors. We invested in new mapping technology and software to share resources over the internet. Our team thrives from new ideas as we research and explore generation M, new materials handling technologies, customer services and “library as place.” When the facility layout needs improvement we offer our facility assessment tool which was developed over the past 40 years. Our recommendations support the potential for more efficient use of building space that supports patrons in the 21st century. Organizational Development

Those looking to improve their library buildings - librarians, staff members, trustees, planners, interior designers or architects - are likely to be contemplating how to improve operations. Our library consulting firm, Aaron Cohen Associates LTD., has embarked on a new approach for addressing and streamlining building operations. We are focusing on library buildings and technology with a variety of planning services.

Any building that works well integrates technology, function, and usability. It is necessary to understand how, in fact, humans feel about space and how they behave within that space. You may have encountered problems in running your library that are clearly related to facilities; on the other hand, your primary issues may lie in the areas of human resources, fund raising, organizational structure, relationships with the academic community, or any one of a number of areas.

Our experience and expertise has allowed us to be of assistance to libraries facing different, and difficult, issues. Adding to our own years of experience, our associates bring to the table many different kinds of talents that can all be put to use in helping you to solve your library’s issues and problems. SAMPLE OF RECENT PROJECTS

The following previous library projects have been broken down into four categories:

1. Organization and Leadership Development  KAUST  Argonne National Laboratory – 14 libraries  National Library of Singapore – 5 regional and 15 branch libraries; 14 year involvement  Atlanta Fulton County Library System – 13 libraries  Buffalo and Erie County Library System – 52 libraries  Georgetown University  Carnegie Mellon University  Johns Hopkins University  Yale University  California Polytechnic Institute  Michigan State University

2. Reorganization and Renovation  Long Island University Library  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign  University of Illinois at Chicago  Carnegie Mellon University Hunt Library  National Agricultural Library  Cornell University Medical Center  Georgetown University  Tufts University

3. New Addition and Renovation  University of the Pacific  Fuller Theological Seminary  NASA Langley  Virginia Polytechnic University  University of Missouri School of Journalism

4. New Building  Eastern Michigan University  U.S. Food & Drug Administration  National Library of Singapore  New Mexico State University STANFORD UNIVERSITY

The Master Facility Plan for Stanford University consisted of several tasks: Service Plan, Functional Relationship Analysis, Space Needs Assessment, Technical Organizational Design, Management Collection, Renovation Design, Schematic Plans and 2D Interior Design and Planning for a new 500 year repository. The outcomes for the Master Facility Plan included the following:

 Recommendations for the reutilization of existing buildings on campus.  A review of current and future collections – high density storage requirements.  Facilities management/operations planning.  Technology integration.  The development of alternative plans for redesign – and the consideration of different strategies including phased implementation of the existing libraries on campus.  Renovation and reconfiguration plans.  Review of furnishings and equipment.  Interior design; security, operations.

LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY

Aaron Cohen Associates was retained as library planning consultant for LIU from 2000 to 2006. The project includes:

 Technology integration for three campuses;  Strategic operations plan;  A Renovation and Reconfiguration Plan for C.W. Post University Library that did not include any expansion of the library. The existing interior was transformed from a fixed rigid space to an open flexible environment to encourage a learning community;  Schematic and interior design;  Distance education research project;  Master planning for C.W. Post and Brooklyn campuses;  Facility management and security.

ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORIES

Outline assessment of current library services for this major government facility; facilities needs assessment included an inventory of the ten existing library spaces; inventory of furnishings and equipment of all ten libraries; computer aided design for all ten libraries; planning documentation to shift resources within the library system for greater access, usage, and storage. The design and specifications for the installation of compact storage to house the collections as part of a long range master plan to develop a new central library. ANL is one of the primary government laboratories in the nation and we were proud to provide our expert guidance on library space planning to the extension of its library systems. ST LOUIS COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

Our Library consultancy can become familiar with the libraries patrons, staff and administration through focus group sessions and strategic planning discussions. Throughout our involvement with the St Louis County Public Library, we knew, the 100M funding project was going to succeed. Our direct support to the library director helped develop a community-centric needs assessment and building program for the entire county included site selection parameters, and general location recommendations. Our work also included a highly detailed competitive master planning report; reviews of the architectural schematics and the development of preliminary cost estimates for a 45,000 square foot main building. This project won a $100 million construction grant from the voters.

FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Aaron Cohen Associates Ltd., together with architectural firm William McDonough Partners of Charlottesville, VA, was chosen to develop a Building Program and provide Space Design Schemes for a new Library building. The existing space of 43,480 sq.ft was renovated and new space of 51,000 sq.ft. was added. ACA developed zones for staff, user seating, collection and collection processing. Service desks were combined to provide operational efficiency. Materials processing space focuses on the flow of materials to patrons. New scholarly workstations for PhD students were created. ACA developed furniture layouts for plans provided by architects and made recommendations for design.

U.S. FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION

During this project, we identified key technical hurdles, addressed the challenges of collection development and delivery of information to the scientists’ computers. We consolidated 5 libraries into one central facility. The new library is approximately 30,000 sq.ft. Selected List of Work

Public Libraries

Arlington Public Library Arlington, MA Atkinson Public Library Atkinson, NH AtlantaFulton Public Library Atlanta, GA Barnstable Federated Library System Barnstable, MA Bedford Public Library Bedford, NH Berks County Public Library System Reading, PA Broward County Library System Fort Lauderdale, FL Brown Library Seabrook, NH Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Buffalo, NY Cambridge Public Library Cambridge, MA Columbus Public Library Columbus, GA Chicago Public Library Chicago, IL East Brunswick Public Library East Brunswick, NJ Grand Rapids Public Library Grand Rapids, MI Jefferson Parish Library System Metairie, LA King County Library System Seattle, WA Lane Public Library Hamilton, OH Lane Public Library Hampton, NH Leominster Public Library Leominster, MA Lincolnwood Public Library Lincolnwood, IL Manchester Public Library Manchester, CT Manhasset Public Library Manhasset, NY Morse Institute Natick, MA New Haven Public Library New Haven, CT New York Public Library Bronx Borough Branch Mid-Manhattan Branch Donnell Branch Research Branch New York, NY Plymouth Public Library Plymouth, MA Ridgefield Public Library Ridgefield, CT Saratoga Public Library Saratoga, NY Saint Louis Public Library Saint Louis, MO Seekonk Public Library Seekonk, MA Scarborough Public library Scarborough, ME Shrewsbury Public Library Shrewsbury, MA Spokane Public Library Spokane, WA Springfield City Library Springfield, MA Thomas Crane Library Quincy, MA Tompkins County Library System Ithaca, NY Waltham Public Library Waltham, MA Washoe County Library System Reno, NV Westerly Public Library Westerly, RI West Palm Beach Public Library West Palm Beach, FL

College and University Libraries

Arizona State University Phoenix, AZ Arizona State University West Tempe, AZ Augusta Technical Institute Augusta, GA Christendom College Front Royal, VA Cleveland State Cleveland, OH Cornell University Medical Center New York City, NY DeKalb College Decatur, GA Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI Fuller Theological Seminary Pasadena, CA Hartnell College Salinas, CA Hofstra University Long Island, NY Keene State College Keene, NH Long Island University Glencove, Brooklyn & Southampton, NY New England College of Technology Providence, RI New Mexico State University Las Cruces, NM Paul Smith’s College Paul Smith’s, NY Pennsylvania College of Technology Williamsport, PA Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton, NJ Simon Fraser University British Columbia, Canada South Seattle Community College Seattle, WA Temple University Philadelphia, PA Tufts University Boston, MA University of Arizona Tucson, AZ University of California Riverside Riverside, CA University of Central Oklahoma Edmund, OK University of Illinois Champaign/Urbana, IL University of Illinois @ Chicago Chicago, IL University of Minnesota Duluth, MN University of Nevada Reno, NV University of the Pacific Stockton, CA University of Penn. Health Science Philadelphia, PA University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA University of Tampa Tampa, FL University of Texas at Dallas Dallas, TX University of Victoria British Columbia University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA University of Western Ontario Ontario, Canada Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA Wayne State University Detroit, MI Western Oregon University Monmouth, OR West Virginia University Morgantown, WV Widener University School of Law Wilmington, DE Widener University School of Law Harrisburg, PA Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA

School Libraries

Boys Latin School Baltimore, MD Calhoun School New York, NY Gilman School Baltimore, MD Harpeth Hall School Nashville, TN Kreiger Schecter Day School Baltimore, MD Loyola School Baltimore, MD Madira School Washington, DC Notre Dame Baltimore, MD St. Paul’s School for Boys Baltimore, MD St. Paul’s School for Girls Baltimore, MD Spence School NY, NY

Special, Corporate, and Research Libraries

Amer. Institute of Architects Washington, D.C. Blanton-Peale Institute New York, NY Consumers Union Mt. Vernon, NY Digital Equipment Corp Merrimac, MA Engineering Library New York City, NY Hewlett Packard Res. Library Corvallis, OR IBM Watson Laboratory Yorktown Heights, NY International Council of Shopping Centers New York, NY Kennametal Latrobe, PA Lederle Laboratories Pearl River, NY Martin Marietta Baltimore, MD Nynex White Plains, NY Raychem Corporation Menlo Park, CA Sandia National Laboratory Albuquerque, NM Schering Plough, NJ UpJohn Laboratories Kalamazoo, MI

Medical Libraries

CUNY BioMedical Libraries New York City, NY Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, Massachusetts Tripler Army Medical Center Honolulu, HI Tufts University Medical Center Boston, MA

Government Libraries

Argonne National Laboratory Argonne, IL Arnold Air Force Base, TN Commerce Department Washington, D.C. Environmental Protection Agency Cincinnati, OH Federal Reserve Banks NY, Kansas City & San Francisco FDA – White Oak Campus Silver Spring, MD NASA-Langley Norfolk, VA National Agricultural Library Bethesda, MD National Defense University Ft. L.J. McNair, Washington, D.C. National Resources Library Dept. of Interior, Washington, D.C. National Library of Bermuda Hamilton, Bermuda National Library of Singapore Republic of Singapore Naval Research Laboratory Washington, D.C. Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge, TN Office of the President Washington, DC USAMRIID Ft Detrick, MD U.S. Customs Service Washington, DC U.S. Geological Survey, VA

Law Libraries

Alameda County Law Library Alameda, CA Irell & Manella Los Angeles, CA New York University Law School, New York, NY Riverside County Law Library Riverside, CA U.S. Court of Appeals Atlanta, GA U.S. Court of Appeals Boston, MA University of Maryland School of Law, Thurgood Marshall Library Baltimore, MD University of Ontario Law Library Ontario, Canada Widener University School of Law Harrisburg, PA

National Library National Library of Singapore Singapore Office of the US President

Art Libraries

Clark Art Institute Williamstown, MA Moore College of Art Philadelphia, PA