design showcase Archives | American Libraries Magazine

2022 Library Design Showcase call for submissions

Show Us Your Beautiful New Library

April 7, 2022

We are looking for examples of innovative library architecture that address patrons’ needs in unique, interesting, and effective ways. 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 know. To be eligible, … Continue reading Show Us Your Beautiful New Library →

Call Number with American Libraries, Episode 66 - Library Architecture and Design: The Past Meets the Future

Call Number Podcast: Library Architecture and Design

September 21, 2021

First, American Libraries Senior Editor and Call Number host Phil Morehart speaks with Heather Hart, manager of Salt Lake City Public Library’s Sprague branch, about renovations that were made to the 93-year-old, English Tudor–style library after a flood destroyed much of the building in 2017. Next, Morehart talks with Sean Ngo from architecture firm DLR … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Library Architecture and Design →

2021 Library Design Showcase

By Phil Morehart | September 1, 2021

Higher learning D. H. Hill Jr. Library at North Carolina State University in Raleigh Lord Aeck Sargent transformed D. H. Hill Jr. Library into an open, light-filled facility with an eye on the future. The removal of stacks on the second and third floors created new areas for study, academic support, and technology immersion. In … Continue reading 2021 Library Design Showcase →

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 →

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 →

Latest Library Links

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Richard Byrne writes: “In the book Outdoor Kids in an Inside World, Steven Rinella presents a lot of ideas for getting kids interested and involved in learning about nature. In the first chapter, he presents a big list of ideas for things that you can do to spark kids’ curiosity before you even head outside. As I was reading through those ideas, it struck me that many could be done or be aided by the use of Google Earth. Inspired by Rinella’s book, here are five Google Earth activities that you can do to get kids interested in learning about the world around them.”

Free Technology for Teachers, May 21
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Yashvi Peeti writes: “Music has been a way to feel connected to the world beyond my existence. This comes in the form of singing in the car, too. Lending music to words also increases their impact. A lot of lyrics end up casually scribbled or earnestly penned in my many, many notebooks. However, music’s most defining quality, for me, is that it isn’t always something I have to ponder. It is something I can simply rejoice in or be comforted by even without actively listening. Everything that music means to me has led me to wanting to read about it. So here’s a list of diverse and brilliant nonfiction books about music.”

Book Riot, May 20
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Sallyann Price writes: “Long before the popularity of true-crime podcasts, there was True Detective, a pulp magazine published from 1924 to 1995 that, at its peak, chronicled real-life crimes for millions of readers. Edward S. Sullivan, an editor for The Los Angeles Examiner and a True Detective correspondent, would arrive at a crime scene with his notebook and camera, find out what he could from law enforcement, and begin his own investigation into what really happened. In early 2020, University of Southern California (USC) Libraries acquired Sullivan’s personal archive of 1,200 photographs and 50 meticulously annotated case files: murders, assaults, stick-ups, forgeries, grifts, kidnappings, and other criminal acts spanning from the 1930s through the 1960s.”

American Libraries feature, May
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Andrew Albanese writes: “While a federal court is now deciding how to dispatch with Maryland’s library ebook law, lawmakers in Rhode Island this week have advanced the state’s own library ebook bill. On May 18, the Rhode Island Senate Education Committee unanimously voted to recommend passage and advanced Senate Bill 2842 out of committee and to the floor for a full vote. Like Maryland’s library ebook law—which was preliminarily enjoined after federal judge Deborah L. Boardman in February ruled that the law is preempted by the federal Copyright Act—Rhode Island’s law would also require that publishers that offer ebook licenses to the general public also offer to license those works to libraries and schools on ‘reasonable terms’ that would ‘permit libraries, schools, and educational institutions to provide their users and students with access.'”

Publishers Weekly, May 20
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Amelia M. Anderson and Abigail L. Phillips write: “The US Census Bureau reported in 2019 that 40.7 million Americans—or about 12% of the population—have some sort of disability. Libraries work hard to meet the needs of patrons and staff with disabilities and make our facilities accessible to all, but there’s one space that’s too often left out of these conversations: the makerspace. Acknowledging that gap, our research team set out to explore the accessibility of public library makerspaces. Every makerspace is different, we learned, but there were some common themes in our discussions with participants.”

American Libraries column, May
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Gretchen Corsillo writes: “High school students around the country could now stand to lose even more as a result of the recent widespread efforts to ban and challenge books. Earlier this month, College Board, the nonprofit that administers testing and college readiness programs such as the SAT, Advanced Placement (AP) Program, and PSAT, released a new set of guiding principles. Titled What AP Stands For, the statement directly opposes censorship and clarifies that schools that remove essential topics or readings from AP classes could lose their official designation.”

Intellectual Freedom Blog, May 18; College Board
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Taylor Healey-Brooks and Michelle Lee write: “Research across many fields has shown that having a mentor can be crucial for people of color. Mentoring can lead to knowledge, experience, networking opportunities, and increased job satisfaction. One of the most important things mentoring offers is a sense of community and emotional support in one’s career. But it can be difficult for new librarians to find such a person with years of training. Because of the lack of diversity in librarianship (in 2020, approximately 83% of credentialed librarians were white) and problems retaining librarians of color, it can be challenging for new librarians to find a mentor with ample experience in the field. Peer mentoring—a relationship in which the participants are at similar points in their career—can help fill this gap.”

American Libraries column, May; AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees, June 10, 2021

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