It’s not always feasible to update an existing building for use as a library rather than constructing new, but when it is possible it has the potential to save money, reduce environmental impact, and preserve pieces of local history. The following libraries have all successfully transformed existing spaces—some libraries, some not—to suit current and coming needs.
Santa Cruz (Calif.) Public Libraries, Scotts Valley Library
Reuse and Restoration: The city of Scotts Valley refurbished a former indoor roller rink located in a redevelopment district for use as its new public library. The building is the first civic project in the city’s new town center. Suspended polycarbonate “lanterns” introduce natural light into the library and define programmatic spaces. The roller rink’s raised platform and booth seating inspired the teen space, providing space for both independent and collaborative work.
Renovation
Architect: Group 4 Architecture, Research + Planning, Inc.
Size: 13,500 sq. ft. library, 22,600 sq. ft. total
Cost: $2.7 million
Photo: Technical Imagery Studios
Gloucester County (N.J.) Library System, Swedesboro Public Library
Reuse and Restoration: Swedesboro Public Library has occupied a 1920s bank building since 1944. Swedesboro opted to expand and renovate the building to save the historic structure from demolition. New amenities include a large community meeting room, an accessible entrance, a modern HVAC system, and plenty of windows and open space. The project salvaged the original, hand-crafted circulation desk, which now stands at the center of the old and new spaces.
Renovation and Expansion
Architect: Compass Architectural Design
Cost: $1.2 million
Size: 6,500 sq. ft. total, 3,000 sq. ft. expansion
Photo: Workspace Technology Inc.
Tom Green County (Tex.) Library System, Stephens Central Library
Reuse and Restoration: The Hemphill Wells Department Store stood vacant for twenty years, but it once was the social and geographic center of town. Private donors made it possible for the library to transform the building into a library to contribute to the redevelopment of the downtown area. The restoration maintained the store’s overall character, but added an undulating glass facade on street level to welcome passers-by into the library.
Renovation
Architect: Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture
Cost: $12 million
Size: 65,000 sq. ft.
Photo: Tom Kessler
Jackson (N.H.) Public Library
Reuse and Restoration: Jackson Public Library partnered with the local historical society to re-erect the Trickey Barn, which dates to the 1850s but was dismantled in 2008, for use as the new library building. It replaces an 800-square-foot facility that lacked plumbing. The new structure offers Wi-Fi, plenty of seating, and is accessible to people with disabilities.
Restoration and Renovation
Architect: Denis Mires PA, The Architects
Size: 4,800 sq. ft.
Cost: $1.3 million
Photo: Tom Eastman/Conway Daily Sun
Boston Public Library, Norman B. Leventhal Map Center
Reuse and Restoration: A wing on the first floor of Boston Public Library’s National Historic Landmark McKim Building was renovated to create a state-of-the-art home for the Leventhal Map Center. The space features an exhibitions gallery, a reading room for rare-map research, a public learning center, exploration areas designed for children, and a stained-glass reproduction of a 1775 map of Boston.
Renovation
Architect: Gensler
Cost: $1.8 million
Size: 5,760 sq. ft. renovated
Photo: Gina Perille
Pickaway County (Ohio) District Public Library
Reuse and Restoration: Pickaway County District Public Library renovated and incorporated an adjacent medical office into its existing library facility. The building includes an after-hours area that can remain open with minimal staffing to offer high-demand services—including meeting rooms, computer lab, café, teen center, and reading areas—for longer hours.
Renovation and Expansion
Architect: HBM Architects
Cost: $2.4 million
Size: 32,000 sq. ft. total, 17,000 sq. ft. expansion
Photo: Eric Hanson, Hanson Photographic
Jackson County (N.C.) Library
Reuse and Restoration: Jackson County Library renovated a hundred-year-old courthouse and added 20,000 square feet that connects to the original building by a glass atrium. A special challenge to the project was the restoration of the building’s signature cupola, which had to be removed during construction and suffered water damage due to significant rainfall in the initial stages of construction.
Renovation and Expansion
Architect: McMillan Pazdan Smith, LLC
Cost: $7.3 million
Size: 26,000 sq. ft. total, 20,000 sq. ft. expansion
Photo: Rion Rizzo/Creative Sources Photography, Inc.
San Francisco Public Library, Presidio Branch
Reuse and Restoration: The 90-year-old Presidio branch underwent a sensitive historic restoration and renovation that received LEED Silver certification. The project restored the building’s terra cotta façade and stairs, incorporated new pendant light fixtures, refurbished original wood shelving, and created a teen area.
Renovation
Architect: Field Paoli; Joseph Chow & Associates, Inc.
Cost: $4.1 million
Size: 10,205 sq. ft.
Photo: David Wakely
New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Reuse and Restoration: The main branch of New York Public Library opened in 1911 and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965. A three-year preservation project repaired more than 7,000 instances of deterioration or distress in the 150,000-square-foot facade. It also cleaned the facade’s Vermont marble and restored the roof, sculptures, bronze doors, and window frames.
Renovation
Architect: Wiss, Janney & Elstner Associates
Cost: $48.9 million
Photo: Jonathan Blanc
Garfield County (Colo.) Public Library District, Rifle Branch
Reuse and Restoration: While a new building, the Rifle Branch does contain one notable piece of history: A 107-year-old stained glass window that commemorates a 1905 speech given by President Teddy Roosevelt near Rifle. The window, which was rescued from a church demolished in the 1970s, is showcased on the library’s second floor above a mural of local historic photos.
New Construction
Architect: Barker, Rinker, Seacat Architecture
Cost: $6.7 million
Size: 28,000 sq. ft.
Photo: Michael Shopenn
Houston Public Library, Julia Ideson Building
Reuse and Restoration: The original construction plan for the Ideson Library included a south wing and rear garden, but those elements were stripped out due to the economic realities of the Great Depression. A three-year, two-phase renovation brought the original plan to fruition. The project restored the building’s exterior and interiors and created a spacious reading and research room, high-density climate-controlled archival storage, an exhibit hall, meeting and event spaces, staff offices, and specialized labs for book conservation and photo and map digitization.
Renovation and Expansion
Architect: Gensler
Cost: $32 million
Size: 96,500 sq. ft. total, 21,500 sq. ft. expansion
Photo: Rick Gardner
San Francisco Public Library, Park Branch
Reuse and Restoration: A sensitive restoration of the 1909 Park branch returned the building to its neoclassical glory while meeting LEED Gold standards. Historic tables and chairs were refinished and wood shelving was refurbished, while the library added an energy-efficient heating system, two accessible restrooms, and state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment.
Renovation
Architects: Field Paoli; Joseph Chow & Associates, Inc.
Size: 8,825 sq. ft.
Cost: $2.9 million
Photo: David Wakely
University of Toronto, Robarts Library
Reuse and Restoration: With its imposing size, exposed concrete, and hard surfaces, Robarts Library is a formidable example of the brutalist school of architecture of the 1970s. It regularly appears on both most- and least-loved building lists in Toronto. The most recent phase of a multi-year upgrade added a new entry on the south side and two porticos that transformed a little-used second-story lobby into a welcoming arrival hall.
Renovation
Diamond Schmitt Architects
Cost: N/A
Size: 1.1 million sq. ft.
Photo: Elizabeth Gyde
Concord (Mass.) Free Public Library, Fowler Branch
Reuse and Restoration: A renovation of and addition to the Fowler Branch created a new children’s department, meeting room, and archival storage space. It also restored the library's original cupola and skylight.
Renovation and Expansion
Architect: Johnson Roberts Associates, Inc.
Cost: $3.5 million
Size: 11,700 sq. ft. total, 3,500 sq. ft. expansion
Photo: J. Stewart Roberts
District of Columbia Public Library, Georgetown Neighborhood Library
Reuse and Restoration: The Georgian-style Georgetown Neighborhood Library, which opened in 1935, was severely damaged by fire in 2007. A complete renovation and addition restored the building while upgrading lighting, electrical systems, and accessibility. It also restored a reading terrace, which had been removed but was discovered on old blueprints, and captured previously unused attic space to house a special historical collection.
Renovation and Expansion
Architect: Martinez & Johnson Architects
Cost: $16 million
Size: 26,000 sq. ft. total, 7,000 sq. ft. expansion
Photo: DC Public Library
North Wales (Pa.) Area Library
Reuse and Restoration: Prior to 2009, North Wales Area Library operated out of a space in the local public school. When the school needed to reclaim that space, the library purchased and renovated an aging coaxial connector and assembly factory in a residential area near the borough center. The renovation adapted the manufacturing space for the library’s public area, while a large loading dock was enclosed and subdivided into a community meeting area, and landscaping created a memorial garden.
Renovation
Architect: CADFM Design
Cost: $2.3 million
Size: 9,750 sq. ft.
Photo: North Wales Area Library
Cliffside Park (N.J.) Free Public Library
Reuse and Restoration: In December 2009, the Cliffside Park library’s interior was destroyed by a fire. The library’s tight urban site nevertheless permitted a modest addition and a renovation that created a new flow of public spaces.
Renovation and Expansion
Architect: Arcari + Iovino Architects, PC
Cost: $1.4 million
Size: 13,091 sq. ft. total, 2,181 sq. ft. expansion
Photo: Arcari + Iovino Architects, PC