D.Litt. et Phil. (Library and Information Science) / Since the first library building was built in 1900 at the University of Stellenbosch no scientific study of library buildings as seen from the viewpoint of the librarian in the RSA has been done. No South African criteria for libraries at tertiary institutions exist, but SAPSE building norms have been available since the late seventies. The shift of priority from merely collecting information to providing information and updating developments in information and telecommunication technology, have resulted in the philosophy of the library building being adapted. With the primary problem area of the study being the functionality of the modern library building, in the RSA, the research area was defined according to period, type of library building and kind of institution. This study covers the period 1946 through 1983. A thorough literature study on the planning of libraries overseas and in the RSA has been conducted. The type of libraries analised in this study are the main library buildings at universities, teacher training colleges and technikons in use at the end of 1983. Eighteen university library buildings, nineteen teacher training college library buildings and seven technikon library buildings were considered. Each library has been visited and personal interviews were conducted with heads of libraries and senior members of the staff. The personal interview was supplemented by a structured questionnaire dealing with the history, planning, functional areas and the influence of technology on the building. This was completed during the interview. One university library did not occupy a planned library building in 1983. Two universities built two new main library buildings during the period thirteen universities built one each, while one expanded in linear fashion through several academic departments. At teacher training colleges ten new main libraries were constructed, one library was housed in a converted hall and eight were in temporary facilities. Three technikon libraries were in converted halls, three in temporary facilities and one in a library building which was built in 1923...