buildings & design Archives | Page 3 of 10 | American Libraries Magazine

2021 ALA/AIA Library Building Awards

By Phil Morehart | September 1, 2021 The following libraries are winners of the 2021 Library Building Awards, sponsored by Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures (a division of the American Library Association) and the American Institute of Architects. The awards recognize the best in library architecture and design and are open to any architect licensed in the United States. Projects may be located … Continue reading →

Librarian's Library by Araceli Mendez Hintermeister

Design Inspiration

By Araceli Méndez Hintermeister | September 1, 2021

100+ Ideas to Inspire Smart Spaces and Creative Places By Elisabeth Doucett Doucett invites librarians to find inspiration in the spaces around them to create a more engaging and inviting experience for patrons. Through short, standalone chapters, the author guides readers on the ways in which they can attract new patrons and welcome … Continue reading Design Inspiration →

The Library Learning Center at Texas Southern University in Houston

Show Us Your Beautiful New Library

January 4, 2021

We are looking for examples of innovative library architecture that address patrons’ needs in unique, interesting, and effective ways. In this unprecedented year, we are also interested in submissions from libraries that are responding to the pandemic through building design and renovation. If your library is on the cutting edge, we want our readers to … Continue reading Show Us Your Beautiful New Library →

Library Learning Center at Texas Southern University in Houston. Photo: Kayla Hartzog

2020 Library Design Showcase

By Phil Morehart | September 1, 2020 Welcome to the 2020 Library Design Showcase, American Libraries’ annual celebration of new and renovated libraries. These shining examples of architectural innovation—completed before the COVID-19 pandemic—address user needs in unique, interesting, and effective ways. As with past showcases, renovations and expansions dominate submissions, as communities find novel ways to conserve and honor existing spaces while … Continue reading →

A floor plan for furniture removal at Hennepin County (Minn.) Library’s Eden Prairie branch. Illustration: MSR Design

Virus-Responsive Design

By Lara Ewen | September 1, 2020

Traci Engel Lesneski, CEO and principal at Minneapolis-based national architecture firm MSR Design, which has worked with hundreds of libraries across the country, says libraries are ideal spaces for innovative design solutions. “It’s not a stretch to think about the ways that libraries have modeled what’s next in the world,” she says. “Libraries can talk … Continue reading Virus-Responsive Design →

Composite image of different people standing, sitting, and walking through a library space

Encoding Space

By Brian Mathews and Leigh Ann Soistmann | September 1, 2020

Various studies support the notion that space affects our mood and behaviors. From architects and interior designers to psychologists and neuroscientists to community developers and retail managers, numerous experts have discussed the impact of physical environments on the way we think, feel, learn, and act. Swayed by our surroundings We each respond consciously (and often … Continue reading Encoding Space →

Dewey Decibel: Library Architecture and Design

Dewey Decibel Podcast: Library Architecture and Design

August 17, 2020

First, Dewey Decibel host and American Libraries Senior Editor Phil Morehart speaks with Wardell Ross Jr., director of Houston operations for architectural firm Moody Nolan, who was project manager for Texas Southern University’s new Library Learning Center. Morehart and Ross discuss the library’s features and how its design reflects and showcases the heritage of the … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: Library Architecture and Design →

Sustainability in Libraries: Lisa G. Kropp

Enduring, Disrupting, and Thriving

By Lisa G. Kropp | April 28, 2020

To mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day—and recognize the American Library Association adding sustainability as a core value—American Libraries returns with its ongoing sustainability series. In these posts, information professionals share their experiences with sustainability in libraries. Although I wrote that sentence in March 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, that is … Continue reading Enduring, Disrupting, and Thriving →

From left: Jeffery Davis, Margaret Sullivan, Salvador Avila, Melanie Huggins, and Danielle Milam.

Human-Centered Spaces

By Terra Dankowski | February 29, 2020

“Architecture isn’t about buildings, it’s about people,” said Jeffery Davis, library planner and designer at Architectural Nexus in Salt Lake City. Davis, Milam, and fellow panelists at “Inclusionary Tactics that Flip the Script for Library Facility Planning,” a February 28 program of the Public Library Association 2020 Conference in Nashville, emphasized that library design’s new … Continue reading Human-Centered Spaces →

Richland Library Main in Columbia, South Carolina, was featured in the 2019 Library Design Showcase. Photo: Garrett Rowland

Show Us Your Beautiful New Library

January 2, 2020

We are looking for shining examples of innovative library architecture that address patrons’ needs in unique, interesting, and effective ways. Previous submissions have ranged from stunning restorations of historic Carnegie buildings to vacant structures that have been repurposed into libraries to high-tech facilities with audio and video production studios. If your library is on the … Continue reading Show Us Your Beautiful New Library →

Dewey Decibel Podcast: Libraries of All Shapes and Sizes

September 30, 2019

First, American Libraries Senior Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart speaks with Gretchen Caserotti, director of Meridian (Idaho) Library District, about its 320-square-foot Tiny Library. Next, American Libraries Managing Editor Terra Dankowski discusses the construction of Austin (Texas) Public Library’s $125 million Central Library with its project manager, Cynthia Jordan. Finally, Morehart speaks with Rachel … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: Libraries of All Shapes and Sizes →

2019 Library Design Showcase

By Phil Morehart | September 3, 2019 Welcome to the 2019 Library Design Showcase, American Libraries’ annual celebration of new and renovated libraries. These shining examples of innovative architectural feats address user needs in unique, interesting, and effective ways. Renovations and expansions continue to dominate submissions, as communities find novel ways to conserve and honor existing spaces while moving them well into … Continue reading →

Latest Library Links

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Emma Roth writes: “If you’ve ever wondered how the Internet Archive uploads all the physical documents on its site, now you can get a behind-the-scenes look at the process. The Internet Archive launched a new YouTube livestream that shows the digitization of microfiche in real time—complete with some relaxing, lo-fi beats. The livestream shows a close-up look at one of the five microfiche digitization stations at the organization’s Richmond, California, location, along with a look at the document that it’s working on. It runs from Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern.”

The Verge, May 22
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Saikat Basu writes: “Listening to audiobooks is great for multitasking. It helps me take ten-kilometer walks without boredom or wash that foamy pile of dishes. But, unlike a physical book, I struggled to remember most of what I heard. After trying different methods, I found simple ways to make audiobooks stick. It is a matter of being intentional and active while listening. It starts with choosing the right titles and then taking notes to set the stage for better memory. In between, adding visual summaries and creating action plans helps make audiobooks stick to your memory.”

MakeUseOf, May 27
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Mark Dahlquist writes: “A two-year pilot program at Miami University Libraries in Oxford, Ohio, tested a system developed in-library for digitally providing library users with semester-long licenses to access a student-oriented commercial cloud-based collaborative video editing tool (WeVideo) and explored the development of related learning resources and instructional sessions. Collected usage and survey data reveal a strongly positive user response to this tool and library service. Significant obstacles, including accessibility problems, were encountered during the pilot study. However, subsequent platform improvements may have mitigated or resolved many of these challenges.”

The Journal of Creative Library Practice, May 20
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Blake Brittain writes: “Shira Perlmutter, the US Copyright Office director fired by the Trump administration sued President Donald Trump and other government officials on May 22, arguing her firing was unconstitutional and should not be allowed to take effect.” According to Copyright Lately, Perlmutter’s motion for a temporary restraining order “lays out a broader purpose: to block what she portrays as an Executive Branch power grab—one that’s already disrupting operations, stalling critical policy work, and threatening the independence of the agency tasked with administering the nation’s copyright laws.”

Reuters, May 23; Copyright Lately, May 26
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Lizzie Ramirez writes: “Library board meetings have become ground zero for debates about banning certain books or making them harder for children to access. But Assemblywoman Brittney Miller (D-Las Vegas) is hoping to defuse the controversies through AB416, a bill that takes decisions about book removals out of local school and library officials’ hands and instead moving them to court. The bill would also criminalize trying to share sensitive information about library employees or threatening them as felonies.” The bill passed the Assembly May 21, but must pass several other legislative steps to become law.

Nevada Independent, May 22
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Mike Heuer writes: “A Texas public library did not violate patrons’ right to free speech by removing books due to their content, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled on May 23. The entire appellate court, in a 10–7 decision, overturned federal district court and appellate court rulings finding the Llano County (Tex.) Library System erred in removing 17 books due to their content. The majority decision also ruled that the library’s collection decisions are government speech and not subject to First Amendment–based free speech challenges.”

United Press International, May 24; Bloomberg Law, June 6, 2024
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On May 19, Teresa “Teri” Anderson became executive director of the Association of College and Research Libraries, one of the largest ALA divisions. Before joining ALA, Anderson spent more than three decades at ASIS International, a professional organization for security management professionals. She held several positions at the organization, most recently serving as vice president of innovation and outreach, a role in which she provided subject matter expertise and liaised with partners across the security industry. Anderson is a certified association executive through the American Society of Association Executives. She answered our 11 Questions to introduce herself to ALA members.

AL: The Scoop, May 27

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