design showcase Archives | American Libraries Magazine

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 →

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 →

Latest Library Links

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Here are some statistics to celebrate the most frequently banned and challenged books during Banned Books Week, September 23–29. 100,000 was the number of copies of Angie Thomas’s young adult novel, The Hate U Give, that were printed in its first month. The Coretta Scott King Book Awards honoree, about a teenager who witnesses a police shooting, was challenged in July by a South Carolina Fraternal Order of Police chapter for “indoctrination of distrust of police.”

American Libraries feature, Sept./Oct
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Up to $1,000 and the opportunity to be published in Short Story Dispensers nationwide will be at stake for writers of all levels, thanks to a new writing contest launching September 25. PLA, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and Short Édition are teaming up for the first time to encourage writers of all ages and backgrounds to submit an entry. The theme of this year’s contest is courage. The submission deadline is October 30. Full contest details are available online.

ALA Communications and Marketing Office, Sept. 25
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Honorary Book Club Central Chair Sarah Jessica Parker has selected Wayétu Moore’s She Would Be King (Graywolf Press) as her latest pick for ALA’s Book Club Central. The novel reimagines the story of Liberia’s early years through three unforgettable characters, intermingling history and magical realism. Moore is the founder of One Moore Book and teaches at the City University of New York’s John Jay College.

ALA Communications and Marketing Office, Sept. 25
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Cara Giaimo writes: “On January 29, 1908, the crew of the Nimrod landed at Antarctica’s McMurdo Sound. Led by Ernest Shackleton, the explorers would spend the next two years ranging over the continent. Although they never achieved their chief objective of reaching the geographic South Pole, they did bring the first motorcar to Antarctica and climb Mount Erebus for the first time. They also wrote, illustrated, and printed a book, Aurora Australis, the first one ever made on that continent.”

Atlas Obscura, Sept. 24
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Eni Mustafaraj writes: “Recently, Mike Caulfield wrote a Twitter thread and blog post praising Facebook’s new information panel for news publishers. In the meantime, Emma Lurie and I are exploring what knowledge panels can tell us about the credibility of online sources, especially of the ones recognized as partisan or inaccurate. Two findings: Not all snippets are equally informative or address factual accuracy; and snippets are sometimes edited to send certain signals to different audiences.”

Medium, Sept. 23
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Betty Lupinacci writes: “The Library of Congress’s ‘Baseball Americana’ exhibit gives me something new to think about each time I visit. Most intriguing to me are the numerous times women are depicted in the exhibit. For example, the song ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ tells the story of a woman who wants her date to take her to the game instead of a movie or Coney Island (depending on the version). The song is reportedly based on a woman by the name of Trixie Friganza, a vaudeville performer and suffragette.”

In Custodia Legis, Sept. 25
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The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing September 26 called “Examining Safeguards for Consumer Privacy.” But the committee invited only executives from AT&T, Amazon, Apple, Charter, Google, and Twitter to “review the current state of consumer data privacy” and “discuss possible approaches to safeguarding privacy more effectively.” The failure to invite even one public-interest group to counter industry talking points at this kick-off hearing on consumer-privacy proposals is disturbing.

Free Press, Sept. 24

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