The classic definitions of a wide range of facilities are now being altered dramatically, thanks in large part to the development, and deployment, of constantly improving multimedia technologies.
Case in point: The Herrick District Library, located in Holland, Michigan. It had long fit the time-honored role of what we’ve all come to think of with mention of the term “library” - that is, stacks and rows of books, along with healthy doses of periodicals and reference materials. However, an impressive expansion and renovation project points to a new definition of public libraries.
“The library board envisioned a bigger, better facility taking full advantage of multimedia tools for learning, and for making the library a true resource for the community,” explains George Kruggel, who headed up the design and implementation of audio, video and lighting systems for the project.
“At the same time, they also realized that in certain respects, the library is being compared to, and in competition with, the Barnes & Nobles’ of the world. The need to provide the same quality of experience as these well-financed retail establishments also played a role in the direction of this project.”
Kruggel spearheaded the technical design aspects of the renovated Herrick District Library with GMB Architects & Engineers of Holland, the engineering firm of record on the project.
“As an electrical engineer, George has a very good understanding of electronics, as well as systems layout, and he also has a good feel for what the customer wants,” notes Gary Zandstra of Integrated Media Group of Byron Center, Michigan, which supplied A/V system installation and design support at the library. “He also recognizes that technology is changing really fast, and that’s where we have collaborated with him to great success.”
(Editor’s note - Gary, who is also a contributor to PSW Church Sound, is now with the AV Systems division of Parkview Electric of Holland, Michigan.)
New Environment
The original Herrick District building, constructed in the late 1950s, still functioned very well in its capacity as a typical library. As a result, it was retained, joined by a new three-story annex integrated with the old structure, which was given a makeover.
The result is a huge, sparkling facility, featuring uniquely modern architecture: huge windows, shimmering glass, stainless steel and white marble, and unique distribution of lighting fixtures designed exclusively for this project by Kruggel.
“It’s an open, pleasant, stimulating environment,” he notes. “The library should be a place that you want to visit, to utilize, to stay as long as you like. It has to be comfortable, highly functional and easy to use.”
Computers, of course, are in abundance. They serve as a handy resource guide to what’s available at the library, along with serving a wide range of functions as learning and reference tools, word processors, etc. The children’s section of the library also features several computers, where children can play interactive educational games available on CD-ROM.
The top floor of the library offers the community a huge selection of CDs and DVDs (and even some VHS video), all of which can be checked out and taken home just like books. The main floor features books, periodicals, other reference materials, several computers and common areas for reading.
The basement includes a state-of-the-art auditorium available for community use, along with a common area where coffee and snacks are served. All floors are accessible via stairs or a large elevator.
Discrete Systems
The library includes a building-wide background music and paging system, a direct counter to the days of total silence as a rule, punctuated only by admonishments of “shhhh” from fiesty librarians. Control and source gear for these systems, which are independent of each other, reside in a control room in the basement which also serves as the computer storage and repair shop.
The background music system includes a Marantz PMD 370 five-disc CD player, fully loaded and generally set to random play. It feeds a Shure SCM268 four-channel mixer, which provides any necessary signal processing in addition to accommodating other source devices when needed, with signal then fed to two Crown Com-Tech CT-810 power amplifier in 70-volt output mode. All of these components are mounted in an Atlas Soundolier 502-61B rack which can be covered and locked to prevent unauthorized access.
When the CD player is activated, it provides steady programming, without interruption, to more than 80 Atlas Soundolier L20-400-2-7 dual-voice-coil, 8-inch ceiling loudspeakers located throughout the facility.
More than a dozen Atlas AT Series volume controls are mounted throughout the library, allowing levels to be controlled for particular zones. All components are linked via assorted West Penn wire and cabling.
Another feature of the background music system, according to Dan Grabill, who took the lead in A/V system design support on the project, is the ability for alternative programming to be supplied locally at a couple of locations.
For example, the children’s section of the library includes another Shure four-channel mixer and Marantz CD player that can be used to provide a local source, perhaps to accompany a special children’s show.
“They can select the master program or localize it - whatever is needed or wanted at the time,” says Grabill. “In addition, they can also plug in another source device into these mixers for even more capability. However, this is so easy to use that even the most non-technical lay person can operate it without a problem.”
The paging system, meanwhile, takes advantage of the same Atlas loudspeakers; the dual voice coil design was the primary reason for their selection.
Separate feeds are provided from a Rauland CCOM25D master intercom unit, also mounted in the lower-level control room. Linked with the facility-wide telephone system, it provides paging by zone or building-wide by simply inputing the proper numeric codes on the telephone keypad.
“The Atlas loudspeakers are great for an application like this, where you don’t want pages constantly interrupting the music. Instead, the two coexist, with the announcements coming smoothly over the top, with neither at a volume level that could be disturbing to library patrons,” Grabill says. “This ‘two speakers in one’ concept also makes for much easier installation.”
The audio CD section of the library offers a nifty method for either previewing CDs before taking them home, or simply for listening while reading or looking out the window. Grabill worked with Cadence, a case manufacturer, providing them with plans for custom wood cases that house 20 Tascam CD301 CD players distributed around a dedicated section.
These rugged but highly attractive cabinets rest on tables, protecting the CD players and also ensuring that they’re not taken. Visitors simply check out Hosa headphones from the A/V desk, drop in a CD, and enjoy. The same cases are used to house the remote CD player/mixer combos.
Multiple Purposes
The library’s auditorium features an impressive array of audio, video and lighting technology, all integrated together under an intuitive, easy to use control system. As a result, all elements can be quickly activated and mixed/matched to the degree desired by the user.
The auditorium, located on the basement level, offers seating for more than 100 people.
A large stage, spanning the entire front of the square-shaped room, can accommodate a single presenter at a podium or a rather sizable repertory company, and everything in between.
Open to the community, the auditorium is intended to host virtually any type of meeting, presentation or performance imaginable.
Aesthetics, as designed by Kruggel and Frye-Gillan-Molinaro Architects of Chicago, are pleasant, with an abundance of natural wood surfaces that offer a live acoustical characteristic tempered by careful placement.
Incandescent room lighting works in tandem with the surroundings to create a very comfortable environment.
Carpeting covering the entire floor of the audience area helps keep reverberation to a respectable level, while the wood of the stage enhancing acoustics for smaller, spoken-word presentations.
“The idea was to create the room to meet as many needs as possible, with technology available as an option or as an accouterment to the particular needs of a group,” Kruggel explains. “So, a lecturer could bring in an overhead projector, plug it in and roll down the video screen, and be ready to go in a couple of minutes.
“Or, a musical combo can set up on stage, hit a couple of buttons to activate the sound system and adjust house lighting, plug in a couple of mics, and also be ready to go in a couple of minutes. This was the primary goal with respect to the functionality of the room.”
One of the keys to this quest was a Crestron STS wireless control system, outfitted with an ST-IO input/output module and a wireless Crestron touch panel.
Grabill programmed these elements to essentially provide one-button operation - he outlined presets covering virtually every scenario that could be desired, and then established custom control screens, viewed and accessed on the touch panel, to access these presets.
“The ‘wow’ factor on this project is the careful programming that Dan did to provide very smooth transition of all of the room’s elements,” Zandstra notes. “For example, if you want to play a movie on the VCR, you simply press the appropriate preset, with the lights dimming smoothly at a seven-second rate, the video screen lowering during this time, and video rolling just as the lights finish dimming and the screen is resting in place. It’s a very professional presentation. The point is that anyone can create a preset, but how does it look and feel while you’re sitting in the audience?”
All audio/video source devices for the auditorium, including a Pioneer DVD/laser disk/CD player and a Panasonic PV-9451 VCR, are housed in a single Atlas 502-61B rack in a small control room at the rear of the auditorium.
All can be controlled via infrared protocol - the Crestron control system is linked to an IR emitter panel that interfaces with each source device.
As a result, the IR remote control of each of these devices can also be used if the operator prefers.
“In a nutshell, the control scenario is pretty simple,” Grabill says. “You have the Crestron touch panel, with one-button selection, providing an RF feed to the Crestron control unit, which in turn is providing control protocol to each device via infrared. And, you can navigate on the touch panel for more individual control of each device, if that’s wanted.”
Meanwhile, the Crestron system also interfaces with the room’s PrescoLite lighting system via seven contact closures able to be accessed, each representing a different preset established by Kruggel.
The motorized Draper 8-foot by 10-foot video screen retracts into the ceiling, and is lowered either via a touch panel preset of an up/down switch in the control room.
A Sanyo SP-10N LCD projector, outfitted with a Buhl long-throw lens, rests on top of the control room equipment rack, provides a quality video image. The projector is rated at 1200 ANSI lumens and offers 800-line by 600-line resolution.
“When the equipment was specified over a year ago, this projector was at the top of the line for an application like this,” Kruggel says. “It’s a bit more `run of the mill’ now, but still very good in terms of both picture and reliability. And, the price point enabled us to include an identical unit, both for redundancy in the auditorium and for portable applications.”
The audio system, also housed in the control room rack, includes two different modes of operation, again triggered via the Crestron panel. For spoken word and general music applications, signal is processed via a Peavey CEX-5 digital programmable controller, providing a stereo feed to the house loudspeaker system.
However, for video programming, audio signal is routed to a Lexicon DC-2 surround sound processor, with additional equalization added with the Peavey CEX-5.
Crown K2 convection cooled power amplifiers deliver signal to seven Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) JF80 loudspeakers in the auditorium. Mounted horizontally with Omnimount 100WA hardware, the compact, two-way JF80s provide good fidelity and dynamics to the entire listening area.
Three JF80s are mounted left/center/right at the front of the room, with the remaining four loudspeakers dedicated to side and rear surround output.
Each loudspeaker has its own K2 channel, including an EAW SB250 subwoofer located on one of the rear corners of the stage floor. This location proves ideal to take advantage of acoustic coupling with added sub-bass presence is desired. “The JF80s are a good choice for situations where you need good spoken word intelligibility and the additional dynamics of full-range music and video programming,” Grabill says.
A Mackie 1604VLZ compact mixer, also mounted in the rack, is available for live mix by musical performers. Several patch panels on the stage include system inputs, and three Shure U24 wireless systems are available as needed. Two offer bodypack transmitters with lavalier mics, while the other includes a handheld transmitter with Shure Beta 58 mic capsule. Antennas for these systems are mounted in the control room.
Looking Forward
In form and function, the Herrick District Library indeed indicates the current direction for public libraries. New technologies are accepted, and even demanded, by the general public, and facilities of this type will increasingly be responding to accommodate this reality. Multimedia is the norm, not an exception.
“We aggressively utilized some of the latest audio, video and lighting systems in a manner that truly speaks to what an asset a library can be to its community,” Kruggel concludes. “The library board and the citizens of Holland deserve a lot of credit for looking to the future - and embracing it - within the bounds of this exceptional project.”
Keith Clark is editor of ProSoundWeb. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to send him an e-mail.
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