design showcase Archives | American Libraries Magazine

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 →

Show Us Your Beautiful New Library

By Phil Morehart | January 2, 2019

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 →

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 →

Prince George's County (Md.) Memorial Library System, Laurel Branch Library. Photo: Sam Kittner

Show Us Your Beautiful New Library

By Phil Morehart | January 2, 2018

We are looking for libraries that are shining examples of innovative architecture and 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 … Continue reading Show Us Your Beautiful New Library →

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 →

Last Chance for 2017 Design Showcase Submissions

May 1, 2017

We are looking for libraries that are shining examples of innovative architecture and that address patrons’ needs in unique, interesting, and effective ways. Previous submissions have ranged from beautiful restorations of historic buildings to vacant structures that have been repurposed into libraries to colorful kids’ sections and high-tech facilities with audio and video production studios. … Continue reading Last Chance for 2017 Design Showcase Submissions →

Wow Us with Your New Library

By Phil Morehart | January 4, 2017

American Libraries is now accepting submissions for the 2017 Library Design Showcase, our annual feature celebrating new and newly renovated or expanded libraries of all types. The showcase will appear in the September/October 2017 issue. We are looking for libraries that are shining examples of innovative architecture and that address patrons’ needs in unique, interesting, … Continue reading Wow Us with Your New Library →

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 →

Wow Us with Your New Library

By Phil Morehart | January 4, 2016

We are looking for libraries that are shining examples of innovative architecture and that address patrons’ needs in unique, interesting, and effective ways. Previous submissions have ranged from beautiful restorations of historic buildings to vacant structures that have been repurposed into libraries to colorful kids’ sections and high-tech facilities with audio and video production studios. … Continue reading Wow Us with Your New Library →

Latest Library Links

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An Arizona antique dealer has discovered a long-overdue item from the Los Angeles Public Library, and it’s way too big to fit through the book-return slot. A bronze sculpture by US artist Lee Lawrie (best known for his free-standing Atlas in front of New York City’s Rockefeller Center) has turned up at Floyd Lillard’s antique shop in Bisbee, 50 years after it went missing from the iconic library in downtown L.A. Lillard said he plans to return the artwork to the library, just as soon as officials there decide how to transport the roughly 250-pound curved panel. He bought the sculpture about 10 years ago from a woman in Sierra Vista.

Tucson Arizona Daily Star, Sept. 20
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Rachel Kramer Bussel writes: “In April, librarian Jennifer Rothschild tweeted about the disparity between ebook and print prices publishers charge libraries vs. the public, garnering over 4,000 likes for a Tweet that read ‘So here’s the thing—I am worried that publishing is killing libraries, and that will, in turn, kill publishing,’ the first in a thread exploring the issue. The thread became so popular that Rothschild, collection engagement librarian for Arlington (Va.) Public Library, has continued them, expanding from discussing publishers’ library ebook prices to comparing prices for specific books on national bestseller lists, and noting when publishers change their terms.”

Forbes, Sept. 20
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Perhaps the largest Little Free Library in Mississippi is in Mize. It is a full-size reproduction of the TARDIS—Time and Relative Dimension in Space—a well-known device in the Doctor Who TV series that combines travel across time and space. The TARDIS is “much bigger on the inside” and full of adventure and mystery, so was an appropriate and engaging vehicle for a Little Free Library, said Dick Ford, who built most of the structure and was instrumental in getting it located outside the R. T. Prince Memorial Library in Mize. However, it is not the only TARDIS Little Free Library, as there are at least 37 others.

Hattiesburg (Miss.) American, Sept. 17
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Caroline Haskins writes: “One day in early September, Archivist Tony Cucchiara gave me a tour of the massive archival system for Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, accounting for all 570,000 burials. Green-Wood has millions of pages of burial orders, lot information, and family information spread across three buildings. The information in these files is useful to historians studying disease, to genealogists, to descendants of the deceased, and to New York history generally. However, climate change poses threats to archives around the country. In a worst-case scenario, climate change could mean that irreplaceable records documenting the course of human history are lost forever.”

Vice, Sept. 17
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A prolific book thief has been jailed for 25 months after he stole more than 7,000 books from three universities in Edinburgh, Scotland, before selling them online. Darren Barr is said to have made more than £30,000 by selling the textbooks through the online book markets WeBuyBooks, Ziffit, and Zapper. During an 11-month crime spree from October 2017, Barr is believed to have stolen thousands of textbooks from Napier University and hundreds more from Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt universities. The books included sought-after texts on nursing, business studies, human resources, criminology, and marketing.

The Guardian (UK), Sept. 18
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Joel Hruska writes: “Speeding up a slow PC can be a challenge, particularly when dealing with older hardware that may be on the cusp of needing an upgrade or replacement anyway. Sometimes, a system simply needs a fresh OS install or driver update to perform significantly better. In other cases, upgrade or wholesale replacement are necessary. This article is designed to help you troubleshoot a slow machine. Specifically, it walks through the process of determining whether your problem is more likely to be caused by software, hardware, or simply the age of the machine.”

ExtremeTech, Sept. 20
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Erin Nguyen writes: “Many public libraries can identify with the challenge of providing weekend programming to patrons. We know that weekends are an ideal time to provide programs for patrons who are unable to attend programming during weekday storytime sessions, yet we are often so leanly staffed on the weekends that adding the responsibility of presenting programs to our staff workload is next to impossible. Through grant funding and partnerships with a wide range of talented presenters, my library system is now able to provide Saturday family programming through our Saturday Stories and Songs series in order to meet this critical need.”

ALSC Blog, Sept. 20

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