design showcase Archives | American Libraries Magazine

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

AIA/ALA Library Building Awards

By Phil Morehart | September 1, 2015 The following libraries are winners of the 2015 Library Building Awards, sponsored by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and ALA’s Library Leadership and Management Association. The biennial award recognizes distinguished accomplishment in library architecture by an architect licensed in the United States for any library in the US or abroad. The awards were presented at … Continue reading →

2015 Library Design Showcase

By Phil Morehart | September 1, 2015

Renovating History The John Hay Library, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island Built in 1910, the John Hay Library at Brown University was brought into the present with recent renovations. In addition to enhanced research spaces in the main reading room and special collections room, the library added a new ADA-accessible entrance and safety and security … Continue reading 2015 Library Design Showcase →

The 2014 Library Design Showcase

By Phil Morehart | September 3, 2014

Welcome to the 2014 Library Design Showcase, our annual celebration of new and newly renovated libraries. These libraries are shining examples of innovative architecture that address user needs in unique, interesting, and effective ways. Open Spaces Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Commons, Salem (Mass.) State University The new learning commons at Salem State is … Continue reading The 2014 Library Design Showcase →

AIA/ALA Library Building Awards

By Phil Morehart | September 23, 2013

The following libraries are winners of the 2013 Library Building Awards, sponsored by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and ALA’s Library Leadership and Management Association. For the past 50 years, the biennial award has recognized distinguished accomplishment in library architecture by an architect licensed in the United States for any library in the US … Continue reading AIA/ALA Library Building Awards →

Building the Future

By Phil Morehart | September 4, 2013

Welcome to the 2013 Library Design Showcase, AL’s annual celebration of new and newly renovated libraries. These libraries are shining examples of innovative architecture that addresses user needs in unique, interesting, and effective ways. Rooms with a View Spartanburg County (S.C.) Public Library—Middle Tyger Branch Middle Tyger library’s renovation took full advantage of the … Continue reading Building the Future →

Library Design Showcase 2012

By Greg Landgraf | March 8, 2012

As the transformation of libraries continues, it follows that the physical structure would have to transform as well to support changes in services, missions, and audiences. The 2012 Library Design Showcase highlights the best in new and newly renovated library buildings, divided into sections that each focus on one architectural aspect. Sections will be posted … Continue reading Library Design Showcase 2012 →

Latest Library Links

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In the May edition of the Libraries Transform Newsletter, we asked libraries to send us their Because statements. Vote for your favorites. A maximum of three can be selected. The winner will receive a $50 gift card for the ALA Store.

Libraries Transform
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Michael Waters writes: “One of the most significant features of the Los Alamos National Laboratory was its scientific library, a secret space that, during the 1940s, housed the secrets of the nuclear bomb. The library had two sections: the main area and the document room—a locked vault containing reports and designs from all the Manhattan Project sites. In 1942, J. Robert Oppenheimer selected statistician Charlotte Serber to operate the library in part because of her lack of librarian experience. He wanted someone who would be willing to bend the rules of cataloging.”

Atlas Obscura, June 23
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Libraries in Alaska are hosting new foodcentric book clubs. Sherry Vogel, Fairbanks North Star Borough adult services librarian, started cookbook clubs at the Noel Wien and North Pole libraries in February. She’d been thinking about the concept and researching it for more than a year. Participants choose a cookbook that fits the theme, select a recipe, and prepare the dish to share at meetings. Themes have included cozy comfort food, Mexican, soups and salads, Mediterranean, and regional Americana.

Fairbanks (Alaska) News-Miner, June 28
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Livraria Ets Haim is the world’s oldest functioning Jewish library. As such, it is no stranger to the prospect of imminent destruction. Founded in 1616 by Jews who fled Catholic persecution in Spain and Portugal, the three-room library is adjacent to Amsterdam’s majestic Portuguese Synagogue in the Dutch capital’s center. The 30,000-volume collection mostly contains manuscripts written by people who fled the Inquisition on the Iberian Peninsula or their descendants.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency, June 27
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Alice Eng writes: “The literature about neurodiversity and libraries is heavily skewed toward libraries accommodating neurodivergent patrons. There is little written about librarians who are neurodivergent and their professional experiences. In this interview, Charlie Remy, an academic librarian who has autism, discusses his autism, his professional experience, and what others can do to create a more inclusive neurodiverse profession.”

In the Library with the Lead Pipe, June 28
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Join us July 24 for a free 60-minute episode of AL Live, where Jason Kuscma, deputy director at Toledo Lucas County (Ohio) Public Library, will discuss how his library uses Analytics on Demand to publicize library services, to market special programs to targeted households, and as a tool to aid managers in understanding their community. Also joining us for the episode will be Liz Bondie.

American Libraries, June 28
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It seemed like a simple exercise. “You’re 4th-graders in my class. Tell me everything you know about ‘Waltzing Matilda.’ Draw or write your own description,” instructed Karla Collins, assistant professor at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. Collins was trying to illustrate a crucial lesson—that we make assumptions about what students know—for attendees of “Library Readiness: Steps to Ensure Your Students Are Ready to Learn in the Elementary Library,” her AASL session on Monday.

AL: The Scoop, June 27

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