Not Just Library: A space for innovation
Upon entering, one immediately notices that Not Just Library somehow filters out all the hubbub from the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park outside. The latticed windows provide warm light, and the black metal bookshelves offer a calm and cool ambience. Although the many available magazines cover all the latest trends, time moves slowly here. Apart from the books about design, which fill the space, there is also a small three-meters-square exhibition space, which is used to hold lectures, concerts and swing dances….
There are more than 30,000 volumes in Not Just Library’s collection, including works related to graphic design, industrial design, architecture, fashion, and arts and crafts, as well as over 100 domestic and foreign periodicals. Each year’s additions to the collection are calibrated to meet changing needs. This year many domestic and foreign periodicals have been added, with an emphasis on those of a non-commercial nature.
Regarding the question of how to select books, the current director, Leslie Liu, apart from paying attention to design trends and taking suggestions from publishers and agents, also keeps an eye on independent bookstores.
You only need a quick look around to discover that there are many books here that aren’t directly or exclusively related to design. For instance, there are books on cooking and diet, photography, music, aesthetics, and so forth. “We have also bolstered our collection of books about art and lifestyle,” Liu says. “The term ‘design’ is no longer restricted to objects. Rather it should be defined as anything or any endeavor that supports life. If the focus is placed solely on designed objects, it is easy to get lost in the currents and end up blindly adopting a foreign perspective. With a more aesthetic approach, there can be greater consideration given to independent thinking and less exclusive focus on design results. Consequently, the earlier [more theoretical and philosophical] stages of design also get considered when choosing books.”
With the Internet so well developed in modern society, why still read books at all? When it’s so easy to get information about design, why make a trip to the library? Leslie Liu cites three reasons: First, in an age of information overload, there is an even greater need for books—since amid the oceans of information, so much has been copied and pasted or is otherwise redundant.
Second, when you go online to search for information, the first links listed in search engines are likely to be more mainstream in orientation. Yet “when designing, it is important to have your own point of view.” By leafing through books from different eras, you can gain different kinds of stimulation. Third, the Internet too often fosters echo chambers. But sometimes inspiration comes from contact with individuals with whom you are unfamiliar. “The necessity of books and libraries is found herein: They can provide equal access to different levels of knowledge.”
From the large vocabulary related to photographic techniques, why choose “lightbox”? Founder Tsao Liang-pin offers this thoughtful explanation: “A lightbox is a piece of equipment that is used to inspect negatives and slides. I hope that this space will have a certain sense of energy, like a box that emanates light, and that these books of photographs will allow lovers of photography to gain stimulation from crosspollination that creates mental fireworks. It ought to be suffused in joy.”