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MillimeterHifi House integrates multimedia information system into Princeton Library
Oct 14, 2004 10:50 AM
The Audio Video Systems Group (AVSG) of Hifi House is helping the new Princeton Library in Princeton, New Jersey, prove that public libraries are not just about books anymore. The new Princeton Library, founded in 1909 and rebuilt in 2004, ushers in an exciting new era for the library information sciences.
This was the vision and is the reality of the trustees and staff of the Princeton Library: Comfortable chairs nestled among bookcases and magazine racks, with a beautiful view of the neighborhood. Private study rooms and group study carrels, complete with PCs with broadband Internet access, outfitted with the latest software. Small conference rooms and large community rooms, replete with 60-inch plasma TVs, projection computers, and interactive electronic whiteboards. Lively "living room" areas where kids can be kids, and pre-teens, teens, and 'tweens can socialize.
This could not have been achieved without AVSG's project expertise and installation of the library's high-end audio and video systems. The experts at AVSG also sourced and provided virtually all of the audio/video hardware, software, and wiring that fill the Princeton Library's 61,000 square feet. Pervasive multimedia content can be controlled locally by individual remotes, or centrally managed through a single remote that can independently program audio and video content, computers, and lighting across multiple multimedia zones.
"We wanted to create a true community space that was more than just a bigger building to put books in," says Leslie Burger, director of the Princeton Public Library. "We spent a lot of time envisioning a public library in the digital age, with nonstop media and people living very busy lives. Technology is an integral part of how we get information and spend our lives. So we came up with the concept that a library should be the community's living room, a place that brings people of all ages and backgrounds together to learn, connect, and grow. The completely integrated audio/video information system provided and installed by Hifi House's AVSG is a cornerstone of that concept."
In addition to housing some 120,000 books in its stacks, the Princeton Library features 12 uniquely designed rooms that span three floors.
Four independently programmable flat-screen TVs and tuners are situated throughout the building, including one NEC 42-inch flat screen at the entrance that's used as a "digital bulletin board" to announce library events. Two NEC 42-inch plasma screens are mounted in the ceiling of the main room, where DVDs, videos, and recorded books play.
A public Meeting Room on the first floor is outfitted with a 10-foot screen and a high-resolution Sanyo LCD projector, where up to 165 patrons can watch live TV, or select from over 15,000 DVDs and videos. The meeting room also offers the latest corporate conferencing and multimedia presentation technologies, including a computer projector, Dolby surround-sound system, and synchronized, automated lighting, all of which can be controlled by a single wireless touchpad.
A public Tech Center on the third floor features an electronic whiteboard with a 60-inch NEC plasma screen and interactive, touch-sensitive overlay control panel, allowing instructors to interact with project computer data, images, and live notations.
AVSG's installation complements the existing fleet of 101 Windows-based PCs, each outfitted with Dell 17-inch high-resolution flat-panel screens, broadband Internet connections. Broadband Ethernet ports and WiFi hot spots are also available throughout the building's interior and exterior areas, allowing visitors to plug in (or roam) with their laptops or other Internet-enabled devices.
Later this year the library will unveil a new outdoor plaza, which will be used for programs such as movies, live music, public readings, etc. It will be fully outfitted with Internet data ports, wireless hot spots and high-end built-in amplification.
The year-long project required tight synchronization with architects, designers, and independent building trades and was completed on time and on budget. "We are extremely proud to have played a key role in bringing the Princeton Library's ideas from futuristic vision to concrete reality," says Ken Adelberg, president of AVSG.
Audio Video Systems Group (AVSG) is a full-service audiovisual systems integrator specializing in design-build projects of corporate boardrooms, distance learning, and training facilities along with professional videoconferencing suites. AVSG is a subsidiary of Hifi House Group, which has been serving the Philadelphia area for more than 40 years. Hifi House is on the Web at www.hifihousegroup.com.
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