design showcase Archives | American Libraries Magazine

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 →

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 →

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 →

2019 ALA/AIA Library Building Awards

By Phil Morehart | September 3, 2019 Tutt Library, Colorado College, Colorado SpringsArchitect: PfeifferPhoto: Steve Lerum Calgary (Alberta) Public Library, Central LibraryArchitect: Snøhetta and DialogPhoto: Michael Grimm The Milstein Center at Barnard College, New York CityArchitect: Skidmore, Owings, and MerrillPhoto: Magda Biernat San Mateo County (Calif.) Libraries, Half Moon Bay branchArchitect: Noll and Tam ArchitectsPhoto: Anthony Lindsey Photography Toronto Public Library, Albion … Continue reading →

2018 Library Design Showcase

By Phil Morehart | September 4, 2018

Dewey Decibel Podcast: New Library Design

August 31, 2018

First, Morehart speaks with Jim Stufflebeam from Sapp Design Architects about the new library in Joplin, Missouri, which has become a symbol of rebirth for the town after it was devastated by a tornado in 2011. Next, Derek Jones from the architecture firm Perkins + Will talks about the Route 9 Library and Innovation Center in … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: New Library Design →

2017 Library Design Showcase

By Phil Morehart | September 1, 2017

Welcome to the 2017 Library Design Showcase, American Libraries’ annual celebration of new and renovated libraries. These are shining examples of innovative architectural feats that address user needs in unique, interesting, and effective ways. Renovations and expansions dominated this year, showing that libraries are holding on to and breathing new life into spaces already cherished … Continue reading 2017 Library Design Showcase →

National Library of Latvia, Riga Architect: Gunnar Birkerts Architects, Gelzis-Smits/Arhetips Photo: David Oldham

AIA/ALA Library Building Awards

By Phil Morehart | September 1, 2017

The following libraries are winners of the 2017 Library Building Awards, sponsored by the American Institute of Architects and the American Library Association’s Library Leadership and Management Association. The biennial award recognizes the best in library architecture and design and is open to any architect licensed in the United States. Projects may be located anywhere … Continue reading AIA/ALA Library Building Awards →

2016 Library Design Showcase

By Phil Morehart | September 1, 2016

Welcome to the 2016 Library Design Showcase, American Libraries’ annual celebration of new and renovated libraries. These are shining examples of innovative architectural feats that address user needs in unique, interesting, and effective ways. New construction dominated this year’s submissions, but renovated and repurposed spaces were a close second, showing how today’s libraries are both … Continue reading 2016 Library Design Showcase →

ALA/IIDA Library Interior Design Awards

By Phil Morehart | September 1, 2016

The following libraries are winners of the 2016 Library Interior Design Awards, sponsored by ALA and the International Interior Design Association (IIDA). The biennial competition honors international library interior design. Winners demonstrate excellence in aesthetics, design, creativity, function, and satisfaction of the client’s objectives. The competition is managed by the Library Leadership and Management Association … Continue reading ALA/IIDA Library Interior Design Awards →

Latest Library Links

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Caroline Leavitt and Christina Ianzito write: “Lights on! Doors locked! It can be fun to fray your nerves when the source is fictional (or is it?!). We asked some booksellers and other bibliophiles to recommend their all-time favorite scary stories. Here are 20 of them.”

AARP, Oct. 20
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Richard Byrne writes: “Recently, YouTube made some changes to the way that the caption editing process works. Those changes are for the better as they’ve made it easier to adjust the correlation between timestamps and your edited captions. In the following video I demonstrate how to edit the captions and adjust the timing of the captions on your YouTube videos.”

Free Technology for Teachers, Oct. 27
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The Chronicling Resistance Project is a new archival effort to document more than 300 years of resistance history in Philadelphia by collecting letters, photographs, reports, scrapbooks, and other materials from civil, women’s, and LGBTQ rights struggles. An artistic response to the 2016 presidential election’s impact on minority communities, Chronicling Resistance—recently awarded a $600,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation—aims to uplift people who are underrepresented in US archives. The curated materials eventually will be housed in an exhibit at Philadelphia Free Library’s Parkway Central branch.

Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 26
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Red paint was smeared on doors and windows of Austin (Tex.) Public Library’s Central location on Cesar Chavez Street early October 26. City officials said the on-duty security guard discovered the vandalism at around 5 a.m. and said the act happened around 2 a.m. The culprits also wrote anti-voting sentiments on the walls of the library, but staff members were able to cover it up with brown paper in the early daylight hours.

KXAN-TX Austin, Oct. 26
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Schools nationwide are struggling to recover unreturned library books, seven months after the coronavirus pandemic shut down buildings and displaced students. A Morris County (N.J.) schools superintendent recently issued a plea to parents after more than 1,100 school library books in his K–12 district went missing. In Osceola, Florida, school officials announced last month that they were seeking 37,801 overdue books worth an estimated $756,020. An AASL survey in September found that 54% of school districts were bracing for a collection loss of up to 10%.

NJ.com, Oct. 24
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Each year, American Libraries tracks dozens of library referenda across the country, using the ballot box as a means of tracking support for public and school libraries. Because next week’s presidential election is expected to generate high voter turnout, some communities may be pushing harder than usual to get local referenda in front of taxpayers, even as the ongoing pandemic lends uncertainty to, well, everything. To get the ball rolling, here we present library referenda that have appeared since last year’s roundup.

AL: The Scoop, Oct. 27
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Claudia C. Breland writes: “In my 10 years as a professional genealogist, working with hundreds of clients and thousands of records, I have learned a lot about judging the quality of a source. Genealogists know that the closer a record is to the event in question, the more likely it is to be accurate. Original documents with primary information are best; sources with secondary information need to be explored further. Sometimes you will have several sources that record the same information—but on digging deeper, you might find that the information is in fact, incorrect.”

Genealogy and Online Research, Oct. 17

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