Accessible and Inclusive Library Design

Description: Join this webinar with Architect Kate Michaud and Interior Designer Lauren Gardner of MSR Design in Minneapolis, MN to explore ways to make your library more accessible and inclusive to patrons and staff. We will cover the basics of the ADA guidelines and how they apply to you. Kate and Lauren will discuss designing beyond the ADA, looking holistically at the patron experience, from the broad lens of exterior building access down to best practices for inclusive furnishings selections. We will review case studies from public library projects and end with a checklist of things you can do today to improve accessibility and inclusion at your library.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the webinar, attendees will take away:

• A list of considerations from the broad lens of exterior building access down to best practices for inclusive furnishings; and
• A list of actions libraries can do today to make their spaces more accessible and inclusive without engaging in a renovation project.

Who Should Attend: Library facilities managers, directors, branch managers, library staff. This webinar explains design considerations from a building and exterior scale all the way down to best practices for furniture layout/types/selection.

Presenters:

As MSR Design’s director of project delivery and a firm senior associate, Kate Michaud is a thoughtful architect with experience in a diverse mix of projects, including public libraries, market rate and affordable multifamily housing, single-family residences, and corporate offices. Kate has a passion for community centered work and believes that everyone can benefit from good design. She is a member of the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including an AIA Minnesota Honor Award, AIA Chicago Distinguished Building Award, AIA Iowa Honor Award, and two Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Awards for Architectural Excellence in Community Design.

Lauren Gardner finds inspiration in projects that bring people together to share their community aspirations, which design teams can create innovative solutions around. An associate and certified interior designer with MSR Design, she actively considers the intersectionality of end users within individual spaces and how these spaces can support shared experiences that build community. She wants all users to feel welcome and supported in community environments and have barrier-free experiences in all the spaces they use. Lauren also researches sustainable products and healthy materials as part of the firm’s initiative to design spaces that benefit the overall health of the people who use them, as well as the environment.

Tech Requirements