Abstract: [Purpose/Significance] To provide a cross-border perspective for help libraries adapt to the trend of space transformation, this paper intends to explore the evolution of "Library+Theater" integration and the inspiration to offer approaches and strategies for library space design and service innovation.[Design/Methodology] The study demonstrates the necessity and feasibility of integrating theater elements into libraries at the theoretical level, and analyzes representative cases of the "library+theater" model at the practical level to interpret the specific ways of the combination and development laws of the two. [Findings/Conclusion] To libraries, the significance of theater has undergone a transformation from "the entity" to "the metaphor". When libraries draw on, introduce and integrate theater elements in their space renovation, they need to go beyond the physical theater and pay more attention to the contemporary value and the construction meaning of theatricality. [Originality/Value] This study summarizes the evolution stages of the form of "library + theater" into three phases: theatrical-form physical renovation, theatrical-style service design, and theatricality-based meaning construction. Oriented towards the future metaverse environment, it proposes a transformative approach from constructing "the theater in library" to designing "the theatricalized library", offering an innovative reference path for spatial transformation of libraries.

Keywords: Library theater, Theatricality, Readers' theater, Metaverse, Library space transformation