Library Acoustic Design
Libraries and reading areas are high-flow public spaces, including reading rooms, corridors, discussion rooms and electronic reading areas.
Core requirements: whole-space low noise, absorb walking and talking noise, reduce indoor echo, separate quiet zones for reading and studying.
Common acoustic problems without professional acoustic treatment:
1. Hard surfaces cause repeated reflection of voice and footsteps
2.Open atriums and corridors spread noise inward
3. Constant mechanical noise disturbs quiet reading atmosphere
4. Sound leakage from discussion rooms
5. Ordinary materials easy to get dirty and worn in high-flow areas
Acoustic design standards
Reverberation Time (RT60)
Libraries require low noise and controlled acoustics for concentration.
- General reading rooms: 0.8 – 1.0 seconds
- Quiet study zones: 0.6 – 0.8 seconds
Moderate absorption prevents noise buildup, ensuring conversations and page turns do not disturb others.
Speech Intelligibility (STI) Levels
While quiet is preferred, unintelligible background speech helps maintain privacy:
- Optimal STI: 0.30 – 0.45 (Poor to Fair)
This ensures conversations are not easily understood, protecting privacy and reducing distraction.
And to ensure acoustic comfort:
Recommended noise criteria level: NC-25 to NC-30
Acoustic Solutions by Area-Wall Systems
Recommended materials:
- PET acoustic wall panels: Eco-friendly, formaldehyde-free, impact-resistant and stylish for public areas. It absorbs daily noise such as talking, page-turning and footsteps, reduces wall echo, and creates a quiet and easy-maintenance reading space.
- Fabric Wrapped Acoustic Panels: Commonly used in reading areas and corridors. It softens short-distance echo with nice decoration effect. It limits local noise spreading and builds quiet corners for reading and studying.
Acoustic Solutions by Area-Ceiling Systems
Recommended materials:
- Pet panel ceiling: Lightweight and eco-friendly for long-time indoor use. It absorbs floating ceiling noise and vent sound. Simple and versatile design fits reading rooms and office areas perfectly.
- Sound absorbing lighting: Combines lighting and sound absorption without extra ceiling occupation. It reduces local upper noise beautifully and practically, ideal for study and reading zones.
- Fiberglass Ceiling Panels: Cost-effective for large public ceilings. It efficiently reduces echo and noisy reverberation in high open halls, creating a quieter indoor environment.
- Wood Wool Panels: Natural eco-friendly material, moisture-proof and artistic in texture. It absorbs medium and high-frequency noise steadily, perfect for cultural areas and corridor decoration, balancing acoustic performance and interior aesthetics.
Products Description
All acoustic materials for Library are strictly manufactured to meet international professional acoustic and safety standards, ensuring stable long-term indoor sound environment and safe indoor application.
1. Acoustic Performance: High sound absorption efficiency with NRC ≥ 0.80, balanced full-frequency absorption for low, medium and high frequency sound
2. Fire Resistance: Compliant with ASTM E84 Class A, EN 13501-1 Class B-s1,d0, fully suitable for public performance venues
3. Environmental Performance: Zero formaldehyde optional, low VOC emission, meet RoHS and REACH environmental requirements for closed indoor spaces
4. Structural Durability: Anti-aging, stable size, no deformation under long-term indoor constant temperature and humidity
5. Adaptive Performance: Moisture-proof and sag-resistant, fit high ceiling and large indoor space long-term use
6. Installation System: Modular customized size, compatible with steel frame and wall mounting system, easy installation and later maintenance
Design Philosophy
Our library acoustic design aims at quiet comfort, public space aesthetics and long-term service durability.
We adopt mild wide-frequency sound absorption instead of over-treatment, to reduce indoor echo and scattered crowd noise, creating a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere for reading and studying.
All designs comply with public building acoustic, fire and environmental standards. We optimize material collocation according to space layout, visitor flow and client budget.
We offer two practical solution types:
The standard economical solution uses polyester wall panels and glass fiber ceiling panels, which ensures stable daily noise reduction with high cost performance and easy maintenance.
The high-end upgraded solution chooses wood wool acoustic panels, artistic fabric-wrapped panels and customized ceiling materials. It delivers a quieter indoor environment and enhances the cultural and elegant sense of the whole library space.