Library furniture Archives - Carroll Seating Company

Published: 13 May 2015

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Furnishing a Library

The library isn’t the stodgy, silent tomb that it used to be. Modern libraries are interesting spaces where technology and textbooks live side by side. And they do it in style.

You don’t just go to a library to pick a book and leave, at least not anymore. They are places where study groups meet, tutors assist and yes, we still get books there too. Furnishings in a modern library need to reflect the changing usage of this important school or community hub.

There are many pieces that a modern library can include but some of the basics will always be bookcases, tables and chairs. These serviceable items don’t have to look basic to fulfill their purpose, however. They can create a space that’s up-to-date and in style whether you want a trendy vibe or a classic feel. Our catalog covers it all.

Bookcases

Bookcases are the workhorses of the library. They need to be sturdy and well-balanced with excellent ease of access. They don’t have to be behemoths weighed in tonnage to serve these purposes. Modular units give you flexibility within your space as well as durability and functionality.

Tables

You need table but they don’t all need to look alike, do they? You’ve got plenty of options to create custom spaces. You can have large surfaces for project work, laptops and research materials but you can add smaller tables for resting a volume or two. You might even like a booth with curved banquette seating for collaborative spaces that encourage interaction (but still limit the noise).

Chairs

Chairs take as many forms as tables! Whether you need task chairs for quick uses or a cozy spot for a longer sit-down, we’ve got all the options covered. Timeless, durable and comfortable, our brands bring everything you need to the table. Modern fabrics and construction materials make keeping your chairs clean so much easier that in the past and they last for years, despite frequent wear.

Balancing aesthetics and functionality is a delicate endeavor. You’ll probably need some help. Depend on Carroll Seating’s decades of experience to guide your choices. Trained consultants with a high degree of product knowledge make all the difference in the decision-making process. We’ve been doing this since 1950 so we’ve got all the know-how you’ll need to get your library ready for guests.

Whether you’ve got a renovation or a brand new space, making your library modern will make it more useful. Create a space that will get people talking (quietly).

Published: 20 January 2015

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Furnishing a Library

Libraries, like many spaces these days, are changing quickly. Technology has done a number on these spaces, even in the school environment, and keeping up with the shift can be difficult. While physical materials are still a staple of libraries, so is the need for multimedia spaces. The right shelving solution can help you make the most of the space available for all of the types of materials, but what factors should you take into consideration before you select shelving? Keep reading to learn more:

Think Portability: If you have the need to move your library design to accommodate various groups, you may want to go with more portable mobile designs to help gate off sections of the library to accommodate any groups you have visiting. The ability to reconfigure, even if you don’t require portability, should also be considered, as you may want to shift your library layout during certain times of the school year.

Think Height: Understanding your population can make a big difference in the type of shelving you choose to meet your needs. If you regularly serve younger elementary children, you may want to go with shorter bookcases so they can reach all of the available materials. If you have older kids and you need to maximize your space, floor to ceiling models are easily the way to go.

Think Space: If you have spacing concerns, you may want to invest in double faced library shelving, as it is the ideal way to display the most possible materials without utilizing too much of your floor area. While this type of shelving can be pricier, it can also help you make the most of the area you have available.

At Carroll Seating Company, we carry a complete catalog of library shelving to help meet your needs. Contact us today to help address your design concerns and find the right solution to meet your needs.

Published: 8 October 2014

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Furnishing a Library

A library should be a place of comfort. After all, it is that atmosphere that will bring patrons back again and again, whether they’re young students or community members. It can be tough to achieve that level of comfort without the right furniture choices, though, so shopping around a bit is absolutely essential when it’s time to give the library a makeover. One of the best choices you can make? Brodart Library Furniture.

The Benefits of Brodart
For nearly a century, Brodart has been the name to know in the world of libraries. An international company, today, they spend time listening to librarians so they can develop new products that speak specifically to their operational needs. The catalog available from this company is nothing short of enormous. From study carrels that speak to the electronic needs of today’s libraries and circulation desks with the added space and organization options librarians want most to décor and shelving designed specifically for the needs and atmosphere of the ideal library, this is one company that seems to have it all. Their options mean the cost-effective solutions budget-conscious organizations need in the face of struggles to maintain a robust materials collection and a great atmosphere all in one.

Let Us Help
At Carroll Seating Company, we’ve been helping libraries just like yours discover the wonders of a space filled with Brodart’s full line for decades. From start to finish, we’ll help you design your space, install the right furniture choices, and service them in the years to come. Working with Carroll Seating Company means a dedicated account manager who can help you achieve your dreams of a better space for patrons to come, relax, interact, and study. To learn more about your options, contact us today so we can start designing your amazing new space.

Published: 9 September 2014

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Furnishing a Library

Now more than ever before, college libraries have a challenge ahead of them. The challenge is technology, so while college students will likely always need the study space the library provides, they need the physical resources less and less all of the time thanks to the extensive ability to obtain many of these same resources online. Traditional study carrels and areas just don’t work for today’s students. A concept that might? One borrowed from the business world called hoteling or hot desking.

What Is It?

The idea is a fairly simple one. Because many employees are on the run these days to customers, sales meetings, or other offices, the desk space remains unused much of the time. As a result, freeing some of that up, and thus needing smaller work areas overall, is finally possible. Thus the idea of hoteling was born. The concept is this – when an employee is going to need a workspace, he calls ahead to the concierge (or office manager, as the case may be) to reserve a desk space. That desk space is then open for him on a given day at a given time, and he has the space he needs to work.

The idea is pretty easily transferable to college libraries, though you may need to put some policies in place to make it work well. There are several software solutions on the market today to help make it work well from an administration standpoint. Students, particularly on those campuses where many students commute or live off-campus, reserve a great workstation for a period of time. Libraries are sure their workstations are put to good use, and students aren’t trying to study in the noise of the food court.

Making It Work

If hoteling might be a good choice for your library, the essential factor will be the workspace itself. You have to have amazing casework to play this game. Students aren’t going to want to reserve a space if it isn’t comfortable and useful, so much thought has to go into the areas themselves. Keep in mind that you probably don’t want to give your entire library over to the concept, but dedicating a portion to the space is going to do excellent things for both your library and the students themselves. The work areas need to fulfill the simple needs of students who wish to study or complete assignments. An attractive work surface is a given, but you should also ensure students have access to power, maybe even a variety of available charging cords for various devices. Beautify it with some task lighting, and add some functionality with a coat hook or even a trash can. All of these things are simple to accomplish, but they’ll make these hoteling spaces amazing for student use.

Not all business concepts have a place in education, but this is one that certainly does.

Published: 18 March 2014

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Furnishing a Library

If you recently walked into a library and thought, “This isn’t quite what I remember,” you’re not alone. Many of today’s libraries are designed to be open environments, perfect to support diverse needs, including those of individuals and groups. It’s a popular idea, and with good reason. Libraries aren’t what they used to be. Demographics are changing fast, and so too are the needs of libraries. They’re often as much about community collaboration as they are about individuals spending time with reference materials. As a result, the physical landscape of libraries has to shift at the same time, and much of the responsibility of that shift lies in the right furniture.

Tables and Chairs Defining Libraries?

Libraries were once just about books, but that can’t be the case anymore. Sure, just a few decades ago the best way to study up on a concept was to look through past printed material, but people don’t work that way anymore. Instead, the best researchers consult printed material, digital material, and even other people to share information. As a result, libraries have to move from shelves of printed material to technology bases that allow as much space for equipment as they do for people. Getting the right book may be as simple as using the library’s wifi connection to download it from their site instead of consulting the card catalog to go back in the shelves and find it.

Enter furniture solutions. With comfortable chairs to sit in while you’re holding your tablet, spots to take a break and talk with other patrons, and bright, friendly story time areas for the smallest patrons, the idea of an open library quickly becomes a reality, even without other vast changes to the space itself. The simple addition of open and individualized study spaces in the same spot transforms what used to be a dark place with people going “Shhhh!” all of the time to a light, airy environment where grabbing what you need may mean plugging in or heading back to the stacks for a closer look at that book.

To learn more about our complete line of open library furniture, contact Carroll Seating Company today. From the initial design to the installation phase, we’re right here to help you develop the perfect space for all of your patrons.

Published: 25 February 2014

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Furnishing a Library

The idea of open concept library furniture is growing fast. Libraries simply aren’t closed, dark spaces full of shelves and silent tables anymore. They’re changing as fast as the way people obtain information is, and a big part of that change is a shift in the furniture. If you’re thinking of giving your library a facelift, but you’re not quite sure what’s available, this quick guide can help.

Shelving

Any great library has lots of shelving, but it does not have to look quite so traditional these days. There are so many different choices. Looking to make an area friendlier for littler hands? Why not try a cute shaped display shelf that’s just the right size for your pint sized patrons. Need to display the best selections in a given section? End panel shelving or even canopy topped shelving may be the ideal answer.

Often how you store your materials is just as important as what materials you have in your facility, so feel free to dream big. From decorative end panels that help further a theme to cute choices that incorporate flexible seating options, reviewing your shelving choices carefully is a must.

Seating

Comfy arm chairs. Stacking modular seats. Traditional sturdy wood chairs. Squishy soft bean bag chairs. Wondering what they have in common? They’re all often part of today’s library at the same time. Those cozy spots are ideal in the places where your patrons might spend a bit of time chatting about the latest best seller.

The modular seating is ideal for the larger community gatherings your library might play host to. The sturdy wooden chairs are a must when it’s time for a more serious look at things. No matter what look you’re going for, the key with today’s library seating options is to make certain you’re serving the needs of everyone at the same time.

Study Areas

As important as collaboration can be in a library, quiet study is just as essential, so putting some thought into those individualized study spaces is an absolute must. Fortunately, there’s still plenty of modern options there too. Incorporate a little technology with plug in spaces for laptops and tablets. Get more traditional with flexible study carrels that can reconfigure as needed. Go with tables that work just as well for one as they do for an entire group. It’s all in the flexibility these days.

Proper Planning

Open concept library furniture is a broad area. You can’t simply choose a few products out of a catalog and have the right look for your library. Instead, you need an entire planning team on your side to look at your current space, show you the right options for that space, then help you put it all together. So, before you start that order form, contact the qualified library planning team at Carroll Seating Company today, then get ready to build the library of your dreams.

Published: 8 January 2013

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Seating Solutions

No One Likes Old Furniture
An older library may have furniture from the time when it was first built. Over time, chairs become ratty, tables become rickety, and chairs grow uncomfortable. It may also be that the library has grown and now these old pieces simply aren’t enough to accommodate for the current amount of traffic that comes and goes throughout the library during the day. There are a lot of different things that might happen to your library over the years to merit new furniture.

Perhaps your library is being renovated, or you just received a grant that allows you to update your library in every capacity. Libraries are the perfect places for people to relax, read, study, and discuss things (quietly, of course). Isn’t it time that the library was made better for everybody?

Beautiful Choices
Library furniture has a wide range which allows you to get almost anything you like. Even better? Though you may primarily be in need of chairs and tables, you may also want to stop and consider new shelving units as well as library desks for librarians to work at. There are all sorts of fantastic pieces that can work wonders in your library not just in comfort but in style and functionality as well!

The right additions to your library can really transform it as well. Your library may go from being the place people simply check out books and leave to the place where students want to hang out and study after school. Chic designs that allow them to collaborate can put their minds at ease and really invite them in. Furniture can also entice people to stay longer and enjoy all that the library has to offer. Improved bookcases might give you the additional space you need to add in more books, something that every library can use!

Help With Your Furniture
When you contact Carroll Seating Company, you aren’t just calling someone to get furniture. We will help you through every step of the way, from choosing the right library furniture for your space to installing it in the best locations to helping you with financing. We want your library to look just as fantastic as you hoped and will do everything to make that dream a reality. There are plenty of options to choose from, so be sure to take your time when you peruse the catalog. We’ve been there for libraries for the last six decades – we’d love to work with you on yours.

Published: 18 December 2012

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Seating Solutions

The Right Library Equipment
In order to have a proper library it needs to be furnished with the proper materials. Libraries need desks and chairs in order to give people young and old a place to study and read. They also need bookshelves in order to house all the wonderful titles that await readers. Equipment installed should look stylish but still match your school’s tone even as it helps to save space and provide the best in functionality.

When you have the right equipment for your library, it can feel more open, more inviting, and will be more likely to attract students and teachers alike for more than just the occasional study session.

What Do You Need?
Some schools, whether they are elementary or universities, require every single furnishing type. Others may only need one or two things. Give your library a thorough examination in order to determine what you need the most and what is affordable on your budget. Remember, with Carroll Seating we can help you get the financing you need in order to get all the products you hoped for.

Bookcases are a must for any library. If you discover that your shelves are bowing after years of holding the weight of books, then you may want to look into getting new ones. This goes double for shelves that are bigger than they need to be, or simply too old and outdated. There are a lot of innovative new styles that take up less space and are able to hold more, both in volume and in weight.

Library chairs give everybody a place to sit, whether they are students or teachers. In the past, library chairs may have been hard and not very comfortable, but today you can obtain many different chair types, all of which are ultra comfortable, tasteful, and wonderfully chic.

Desks for libraries are needed for multiple functions. These are the locations in which students will do their studying, professors will do research or conduct classes, or where computers will sit awaiting use. There are even levels of customization when it comes to desks so you can choose the right desks for your library. Function and form come together with all the options available so you can find desks that look perfect in your library and offer exactly what you need.

Watch Your Library Transform
It can be amazing to see your library looking like its old self one day and then looking like brand new the next. You can pick out what you believe will work best for your library in all three areas. If you need help during the process at any time, you can contact us. Carroll Seating Company has been working with schools for decades and keep up with the industry in order to provide you with the best in library furnishings. It’s about high quality, excellent service, and of course, amazing results that you will love. Talk to your school today about giving your library new life and let us know if there is anything we can do to help make that dream come true.

Published: 26 October 2012

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Seating Solutions

On the hunt for a great company? An important factor to keep in mind- Will this company do more for me than just sell and install? Whether it be telescopic bleachers, courtside seating, new lockers for your hall, Library furniture, casework or healthcare solutions. There is so much more to the product alone. Yes, you do want the finished results to be polished, secure, and worth every penny, but you don’t want a company that will do the job and then disappear, never to be heard from again. What if you discover a problem with your new product? What if, over time, a part breaks and you need something replaced? Or what if from the very beginning you find that you might need some help financing your project? Will the company you’ve been considering be able to help you with all of those scenarios? Or is there expertise selling and installing– and that’s it?

Multiple Services from One Location
That is why you need to take a little time and examine the various companies you might be considering. Carroll Seating Company understood right away that it never is such a simple matter of providing a product and then moving on to the next customer. Building rapport with clients and seeing to all of their needs is a part of what we do. From the moment we speak with you to a few years down the road when you have a question or an issue, we are there to help put your mind at ease and make sure all your product needs, questions, and ideas are addressed.

Flexible and considerate, the goal is to get you the product you need for your location or business. We also have a wide variety of product offerings made with the highest of quality so they last for years to come. Should anything ever happen after your installation occurs, simply contact us. We keep our warehouses stocked with hundreds of replacement parts from a huge date range so if you ever discover something amiss, it can be fixed. We ship quickly so you can get what you need as soon as possible.

Communication is the Key
You can contact us at any time through the use of email, or you can call or visit one of our locations. We’re always happy to hear from clients and will do everything possible solve any concerns you may have. That’s why we don’t just supply you with the product – we supply you with solutions.