Planning a new library in an age of transition: the Washington University School of Medicine Library and Biomedical Communications Center.

In an era of great technological and socioeconomic changes, the Washington University School of Medicine conceptualized and built its first Library and Biomedical Communications Center in seventy-eight years. The planning process, evolution of the electronic library, and translation of functions into operating spaces are discussed. Since 1983, when the project was approved, a whole range of information technologies and services have emerged. The authors consider the kind of library that would operate in a setting where people can do their own searches, order data and materials through an electronic network, analyze and manage information, and use software to create their own publications.