Abstract
As the number of children's libraries has increased in Korea, it has been discussed to improve the quality of design in the libraries. In a reading room of children's library, spatial consideration should be focused on the children under 10 years old since they are in important points to learn Hangul and to develop reading habits. This study is aimed to examine the characteristics of a floor-sitting reading room, where children can feel like a home, stay in clean and safe and play while reading. The seven case studies of floor-sitting reading rooms are analyzed from the viewpoint of each factor of physical environment, including structure, furniture, and decoration. The following is the summary of findings of this study. First, floor-sitting reading rooms tend to compose main reading areas around bookshelves. Reading areas create the characters by changing floor levels and arranging furniture associated with windows, columns, and wall-type bookshelves. In the reading areas, movable low-level tables are frequently placed for flexible space uses, and seats for reading tend to put together with fixed bookshelves. Second, the central areas of the reading rooms are often shaped in the forms of pods, storytelling areas, sculptures, and unique furniture. Especially storytelling areas and pods play the cores of the reading rooms with the varying steps of floors and pictorial graphics on walls. Third, decoration elements in the reading rooms are designed with graphics, visual displays, and sculptural decorations. In my case studies, spatial elements such as reading nooks, attics, tunnels, and shelters are not often found in the floor-sitting reading rooms even though children like to have them. Since it is the advantage of floor-sitting reading rooms where children can take off shoes and act freely, we should look for the design of such spatial elements in the floor-sitting reading rooms.