Adapting Library Services for Pandemic Times

How can the City continue offering services and a quality experience to library users despite the many constraints resulting from the pandemic public health response? That was the question that prompted the Bureau du design to develop a public services design lab last November.

The project aimed to analyze and adjust the user pathways and indoor layout of municipal libraries. The exercise involved the staff at three public libraries (Marc-Favreau, Rivière-des-Prairies and Le Prévost), municipal experts and a multidisciplinary design team led by service design studio Meilleur monde in collaboration with architect Alexandre Landry and graphic design studio Tagteam. Together they conducted a study of existing services and followed by design of solutions and in-library prototype testing.

The end result is a guide that was submitted and then shared with managers and librarians throughout the network. This was complemented by a self-evaluation checklist and specialized follow-up by service designers.

The guide is now available for download.