Docklands Library’s Digital Wonderland
The City of Melbourne has built the library of the future and it bears little resemblance to the traditional archetype of a community reading room.
It’s an architecturally beautiful building that’s structurally and aesthetically reliant on timber.
But from the outset the building provides a hint of the revolution that lurks within. A Mitsubishi outdoor LED display acts as a beacon to all of Docklands. The 10mm pixel-pitch panel was chosen for its wide viewing angle and brightness. It’s mostly a digital billboard and allows the library to advertise events.
Indoors, trees (or at least the pulped variety) still reign supreme with the requisite complement of books. But from there, the similarities to old-school libraries end, with digital solutions playing a very significant role, starting in the foyer café.
What better place to devour the morning papers while you consume a friand and ristretto! A magnificent communal table includes two neatly integrated touchscreens. The hardware (supplied by Interactivity) hosts Bing News for a range of local and international newspapers and magazines.
Above you are two, back-to-back ceiling-mounted 46-inch NEC black-bezel panels which provide in-house marketing messaging — events, and promotions. The screens ship with built-in OPS (open pluggable specification) PCs which keeps the low-profile displays super-neat. Just Digital Signage (JDS) provided the signage platform.
JDS also took care of the wayfinding screen at the front desk. It’s a uncluttered touchscreen interface that provides easy-to-use directions to book sections and rooms across the three floors.
Another touch option isn’t far away. Affectionately dubbed the Octopus, it’s a white Corian-shrouded 47-inch touch table built in Australia under license by Interactivity. The interface provides 10-touchpoint access to a world of library resources, and its clean sculptured lines make it a welcome addition to the modern interior.
After a coffee you can take your kids through to the children’s activity and learning centre which is packed with interactive learning/playing options. Large-screen, low-mounted multi-touch displays take children through Disney-licensed games that require zero coaching — kids just hop on and enjoy.
An interactive floor display is a real favourite. Combining ceiling-mounted Mitsubishi projectors and a camera that picks up breaks in an infrared beam, kids need no invitation to jump onto the Polyflor PVC ‘screen’ laid on the floor and interact with the Flash animations. The system is the brainchild of Interactivity and has been a huge hit, clocking up nearly 60,000 individual interactions in the first six months. Interactivity’s Projects Director, Maddi Goricane, puts the popularity down to the no-brainer usability: “The interactive floor breaks down all barriers. Anyone can use it and the applications for it are limitless.”
Docklands library truly shows a glimpse of the future. It’s a community hub in a freshly-minted suburb that needs community focus. And if like me you’ve not had cause to darken the doors of a library for years, you’ll be sure to have your preconceptions rocked. Pivotal to this change of perception is the digital offering.
Interactivity: (03) 9555 1600 or interactivity.com.au
Just Digital Signage: 1300 339 873 or justdigitalsignage.com.au
NEC: 131 632 or displays@nec.com.au
Mitsubishi: (02) 9684 7777 or mitsubishielectric.com.au
Parity (AV Consultants): parity.com.au
ProAV Solutions (Integrators): proavsolutions.com.au