design showcase Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Sitting area with fireplace in Brown County Library, East branch.

Submissions Open for Library Design Showcase

January 2, 2025

We are looking for examples of innovative library architecture that address patrons’ needs in unique and effective ways. We are especially interested in submissions from libraries that are approaching design with sustainability, accessibility, and smaller budgets in mind. Partial renovations, projects under $1 million, and school libraries are encouraged to apply. To be eligible, projects … Continue reading Submissions Open for Library Design Showcase →

2024 Library Design Showcase

By Phil Morehart | September 3, 2024

From Brutal to beautiful Toronto Public Library, York Woods branch The York Woods renovation and addition retains the original 1970 brutalist library and connected theater while enhancing them with a new 2,000-square-foot glass entrance pavilion, topped with a timber roof to create a welcoming entryway. The interior retains the original structure but now incorporates exposed … Continue reading 2024 Library Design Showcase →

Middle Country Public Library in Centereach, New York

Show Us Your Beautiful New Library

January 2, 2024

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 approaching design with sustainability, accessibility, and smaller budgets in mind. If your library is on the cutting edge, we want our readers to know. To be … Continue reading Show Us Your Beautiful New Library →

2023 Library Design Showcase

By Sallyann Price | September 1, 2023

Living History Cincinnati and Hamilton County (Ohio) Public Library, Walnut Hills branch The oldest branch in its system and the first of several of Cincinnati’s Carnegie libraries, Walnut Hills recently underwent its first significant improvements since its construction in 1906. The branch is now fully accessible. The architects preserved its French Renaissance–style details—red brick, a … Continue reading 2023 Library Design Showcase →

2023 ALA/AIA Library Building Awards

September 1, 2023 The following libraries are winners of the 2023 Library Building Awards, sponsored by Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures (a division of the American Library Association) and the American Institute of Architects. The awards, recognizing the best in library architecture and design, are open to any architect licensed in the US. Projects may be located anywhere in … Continue reading →

A Welcoming Space

By Emily Drabinski | September 1, 2023

Whether it’s marveling at the dome inside Carnegie-Stout Public Library in Dubuque, Iowa, the vibrant entrepreneurship lab at University of Rhode Island in Kingston, or the bright carpets and colorful student art at P.S. 28 in Manhattan, those first few moments through the door always call home the magic that happens inside our buildings. We … Continue reading A Welcoming Space →

Photo of Fulton County (Georgia) Library System's Central Library in Atlanta

2022 Library Design Showcase

By Sallyann Price | September 1, 2022

Environmentally sound Fulton County (Ga.) Library System, Central Library in Atlanta The interior design of the renovated downtown Central Library prioritizes accessibility, flexibility, and transparency, with large windows, multipurpose collaboration spaces, and a two-story atrium wrapping around a central staircase. The building, which is LEED Gold–certified, also emphasizes sustainability. By renovating instead of building entirely … Continue reading 2022 Library Design Showcase →

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 →

Latest Library Links

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Maddie Hanna writes: “The Radnor school board voted April 22 to restore three books that were removed in February from Radnor (Pa.) High School’s library, after impassioned pleas from community members to reject censorship and support LGBTQ students. The board voted 6–0, with three members abstaining, to return Gender Queer, Fun Home, and Blankets to the high school library. The vote reversed decisions by an ad hoc committee appointed by the district’s superintendent that determined the books—all graphic novels, with some sexual depictions—were not age appropriate.”

Philadelphia Inquirer, Apr. 23; Patch.com, Mar. 7
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Jack Dura writes: “North Dakota’s Republican governor Kelly Armstrong on April 23 vetoed bills to further restrict sexual content in libraries and to create a private school voucher program, rejecting two measures that have seen widespread support by GOP governors in other states. The library bill would have expanded North Dakota’s 2023 prohibition on ‘explicit sexual material’ in public libraries to school districts, and require those entities to have policies for relocating such material ‘to an area in the library not easily accessible to minors.’” The Senate’s attempt to override the veto failed on April 25.

Associated Press, Apr. 23; KFYR-TV (Bismarck, N.D.), Apr. 26
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Since early April, numerous libraries and library organizations have received notices that their federal grant awards—such as those from the Institute of Museum and Library Services—have been terminated. ALA is responding to these politically motivated attacks on library funding with public advocacy and litigation. In addition, ALA has encouraged grantees who receive a termination notice to consider several suggestions.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Apr. 22
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Anne Ford writes: “Adele Puccio, director of Maurice M. Pine Free Public Library in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, comes by her wedding dress obsession honestly. ‘When I was a kid, my great-aunt was the buyer at [famous New York bridal boutique] Kleinfeld’s, so I used to go over and look at all the dresses,” she says. “Other people were buying Seventeen; I was buying Brides.’ Decades later, Puccio’s passion now manifests itself in a rotating collection of vintage and modern bridal gowns, which she stores in her library office and loans to any bride who asks.”

American Libraries column, Mar./Apr.
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Martha Meyer writes: “About three in five young adults worldwide report they are “worried” about climate change, but 55% of teachers don’t address the topic because they feel unprepared to do so. And when it comes to books that present climate information to preschool- and elementary-age kids, many titles end up exacerbating readers’ fears or engaging in greenwashing. Our mid-size Midwestern public library thought: Why not develop an award to honor excellent titles that buck this trend?”

American Libraries column, Mar./Apr.
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“Greening your library with limited resources and lukewarm buy-in might seem overwhelming. But sustainability is also about committing to small changes. Here’s a list of low-lift ideas that libraries of any type or size can start incorporating.” Libraries can develop zero-waste programming, start seed libraries, forge partnerships to reuse waste, host repair cafes, and much more.

American Libraries feature, Mar./Apr.
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Minyoung Kim writes: “In the summer of 2024, I spent eight weeks at the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) for my first paper conservation internship. Under the guidance of Chief Conservator Babette Gehnrich—who has dedicated over 35 years to stewarding this remarkable collection—I had the privilege of engaging in various conservation projects. Through this internship, I came to appreciate how AAS’s vast collection, comprising over four million items, embodies American history not only through its texts and imagery but also through traces of use, repair, and past conservation efforts.”

Past is Present, Apr. 22

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