About the Client
MidKent College is a further education college in Kent, England. It runs courses from two separate campuses in Maidstone and Medway (the one featured in this case study), including a number of higher education courses.
There are approximately 8,500 students aged 16 years and upwards enrolled at the college. Courses offered range from pre-entry level to degree level and cover a wide range of vocational and academic subject areas
The Requirement
During the redevelopment of the Medway campus, a major inclusion was the build and fit-out of a new library space for students and staff. Space was already allocated for this, and the team was looking for an expert in the area, to generate ideas and demonstrate different layout solutions.
The brief was simple, the creation of a library space that was light and easy to navigate, with library shelving and storage solutions that would hold it’s ever growing collection of literature. Any solution recommended should allow for the students and it’s teams to quickly deposit and retrieve items, and provide open space for students to study.
To achieve this they contacted Rackline, based on it’s years of experience in the development of libraries within public and private institutions.
The Solution
After visiting their site, looking at the proposed space, examining the inventory to be stored and discussing the brief in detail, Rackline developed a number of layout ideas for the team at MidKent College, and submitted these for feedback.
After several iterations, the Rackline team then created plans to encompass their requirements. The library shelving units provided were arranged in both aisle (back to back) configurations, and wall units for different areas of the library. MidKent College settled on the Rackline Proform library shelving system in White powder coat, an all steel system that is extremely strong and resistant to wear, perfect for high traffic library environments. These shelves are also designed with no protrusions, edges or raised seams, perfect for books and manuscripts.
All the library shelving bays were fitted with plinths for aesthetic reasons (and keep items from being lost underneath), and were fitted with angled shelves for journal display. These angled units are also designed with special hinges to allow for the maximum storage potential, they lift to provide space for back issue storage.
Project Images
The Result
The new library space is perfect for both staff and students. The wide open nature of the space provides easy access for individuals with mobility issues, or using wheelchairs. The steel library shelving units, with white powder coat provide a strong, resilient solution that will last for decades without issues. The selection of library shelving that’s installed provides not only ample storage for the current needs, but plenty for their future collection requirements.
Find Out More
If you work within education and are looking for storage (or to fit out a library) then get in touch with our teams on: 01782 770144 or email info@rackline.co.uk, Alternatively fill in the form below and someone will come back to you. See further education focused case studies here.