Welcome to the 2023 Library Design Showcase, American Libraries’ annual celebration of new and renovated libraries that address patron needs in exciting and effective ways. This year’s selections represent a return to prepandemic normalcy and demonstrate a firm step into the future, with physical spaces designed to draw in communities, celebrate local history, and acknowledge diverse natural environments. For these overhauls and expansions, form and functionality reign.
Cincinnati and Hamilton County (Ohio) Public Library, Walnut Hills branch Delivery
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 tile roof, and birch-stained mahogany interior paneling—while doubling its square footage, building more meeting and community spaces, and adding a parking lot. PROJECT TYPE: Renovation and expansion ARCHITECT: Fishbeck, Interior Project Management SIZE: 22,820 square feet COST: $12.3 million PHOTOS: Kati Best Photography and William Manning Photography.
San Mateo County (Calif.) Libraries, Atherton branch
This light-filled library sits within this wooded northern California community’s newly built civic center complex. The site features front and back porches for quiet reading and community connections, an indoor-outdoor makerspace, and a curved design that embraces the surrounding redwoods. The adjacent historic town hall, built in the 1920s, has been converted into the library’s multipurpose event space, and retains elements of its classic California mission style. PROJECT TYPE: Adaptive reuse ARCHITECT: WRNS Studio SIZE: 11,874 square feet COST: $20.1 million PHOTOS: Bruce Damonte.
Kanawha County (W.Va.) Public Library, Main Library in Charleston
The federal building in downtown Charleston, built in 1911, was originally used as a post office and courthouse. The local library acquired the limestone structure in the 1960s and renovated the interior extensively while preserving its classical façade. Its latest renovation involved adding a west wing to serve as a new entrance; a south wing featuring a café, makerspace, and teen area; and a sky bridge connecting the library to a parking garage. PROJECT TYPE: Renovation and expansion ARCHITECT: Silling Architects, HBM Architects SIZE: 80,000 square feet COST: $32 million PHOTOS: Josh Beeman Photography.
Ramapo College of New Jersey, Peter P. Mercer Learning Commons in Mahwah
The renovation and expansion of the former George T. Potter Library, now part of the new Peter P. Mercer Learning Commons, turned the space into a collaborative study and technology center to meet students’ evolving needs. The exterior aligns with the original design of neighboring buildings while the new slate-and-glass façade offers enhanced thermal performance, ample daylight, and mountain views. The library’s sprawling physical collection has been centralized on the lowest level to make room for collaborative spaces and expanded technology infrastructure. PROJECT TYPE: Renovation and expansion ARCHITECT: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson SIZE: 80,000 square feet COST: $35 million PHOTOS: Christian Phillips Photography.
Central Piedmont Community College, Hagemeyer Library in Charlotte, North Carolina
The Parr Center, the largest building constructed in Central Piedmont Community College’s six-decade history, serves as its first-ever student union and gateway to central campus. The complex also includes a theater, an art gallery, a dining area, stunning views of downtown Charlotte, a redeveloped quad, and the new Hagemeyer Library. The library is now outfitted with a makerspace, podcasting and green-screen rooms, and plenty of indoor and outdoor study space. PROJECT TYPE: New construction ARCHITECTS: Morris-Berg Architects, Moody Nolan SIZE: 66,321 square feet COST: $29.8 million PHOTOS: Darnell Vennie.
University of Alabama, Angelo Bruno Business Library in Tuscaloosa
Though the exterior of this 1994 structure remains unchanged, the interior has been dramatically reimagined and reorganized to support students from the Culverhouse College of Business and the Manderson Graduate School of Business. The Jones Business Analytics Information Commons, a new addition, includes a large stock exchange ticker, and the Bloomberg Research Lab replicates real-time trading for students pursuing careers on Wall Street. PROJECT TYPE: Renovation ARCHITECT: B Group Architecture SIZE: 69,700 square feet COST: $9 million PHOTOS: Jonathan Norris Photography.
Albuquerque Bernalillo County (N.Mex.) Library System, International District branch
The Caravan East nightclub on Route 66 was a country music destination for decades before closing its doors in 2016. The new library, built where Caravan East once stood, honors the nightclub’s history with a wooden dance floor and a replica of its old sign. The branch also boasts a multigenerational activity room (the first such space in the system), an adult reading room that houses the library’s world language collections, a central fireplace, and sweeping mountain views. PROJECT TYPE: New construction ARCHITECT: RMKM Architecture SIZE: 25,000 square feet COST: $15.7 million PHOTOS: Patrick Coulie Photography.
Bullitt County (Ky.) Public Library, Central Library in Shepherdsville
The new Central Library was envisioned as an eco-friendly oasis in the heart of the town’s main shopping corridor. It features a geothermal HVAC system, rain gardens, and 610 rooftop solar collectors, which produce an estimated 50% of the building’s electrical usage. The campus also boasts four courtyard gardens, each representing one of the four classical elements—earth, air, water, and fire—and the four seasons with native plants that flourish throughout the year. PROJECT TYPE: New construction ARCHITECT: Omni Architects SIZE: 45,000 square feet COST: $10.5 million PHOTOS: Frank Döring Photography.
Known for its midcentury modern architecture, New Canaan is home to iconic structures like Philip Johnson’s Glass House and Noyes House, as well as the serpentine River Building at Grace Farms. The new facility references these traditions: dramatic glass elements punctuate dry-laid stone walls, and decorative copper pipes symbolize New England’s forests. Expansive flat roofs support solar panels, long overhangs provide shade and reduce energy use, and a new adjacent park offers green space. PROJECT TYPE: New construction ARCHITECT: Centerbrook Architects and Planners SIZE: 42,000 square feet COST: $40 million PHOTOS: Jeff Goldberg/Esto.
Contra Costa County (Calif.) Library, Pleasant Hill branch
This new library is partially located on a 100-year flood plain, so its blueprint included flood mitigation strategies, such as stormwater retention basins. Its energy-efficient design incorporates local maple and cedar materials, aims for net-zero carbon emissions, and provides radiant heating and cooling, natural ventilation, and a rooftop solar panel array. PROJECT TYPE: New construction ARCHITECT: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson SIZE: 23,788 square feet COST: $34.5 million PHOTOS: Matthew Millman Photography.
Middle Country Public Library in Centereach, New York
This Long Island library moved to its current location in 1972 and has continued to grow to suit shifting demographics and surging demand—including adding a branch in the nearby Selden community. The renovated space in Centereach features state-of-the-art makerspace equipment, an audio-video recording room, and acoustically separated meeting rooms. PROJECT TYPE: Renovation ARCHITECTS: Bermello Ajamil & Partners, JR Keller SIZE: 8,000 square feet COST: $3.4 million PHOTOS: Jeffrey Totaro.
This former factory and warehouse, with its soaring ceilings and tilt-wall design, once produced goods ranging from chicken nuggets to rocket parts. The conversion means that this Dallas suburb now has its first standalone library, with design elements reminiscent of the dogtrot-style homes of the Texas Blackland Prairie region in the 19th and early 20th centuries—particularly the interior breezeway connecting the two main points of entry. The site also houses a full-scale T. rex model and honors the area’s ecological history with native plants and bioswale water collection. PROJECT TYPE: Renovation ARCHITECT: Gensler SIZE: 158,086 square feet COST: $62 million PHOTOS: Connie Zhou Photography.
Updated September 5, 2023, to include HBM Architects as one of the firms that worked on the Kanawha County (W.Va.) Public Library renovation and expansion.
SALLYANN PRICE is a writer and editor based in Seattle.
Christa Lesté-Lasserre writes: “People give a better first impression on Zoom calls if they have books or plants behind them, rather than a living room or a novelty background – such as a walrus in front of an iceberg. [Researchers from Durham University in the United Kingdom] superimposed faces onto six different backgrounds and asked 167 people to rank how trustworthy and competent they thought the people in the images were. The most favorable first impressions were given to the people in front of the bookcase or plants.
ALA members may run for the positions of ALA president-elect or ALA councilor-at-large by petition. Members who are interested in running by petition may do so by completing an e-petition form. Prospective president-elect candidates must collect signatures from no fewer than 200 current ALA personal members, while councilor-at-large candidates need signatures from no fewer than 25 members. Candidates must also complete a Candidate Biographical Information Form. Once the petition process is completed, petition candidates and nominated candidates will be treated identically. The petition period closed December 31, 2023.
Colleen Connolly writes: “Just seven years after the Puritans’ arrival [in the Americas], an Anglican lawyer named Thomas Morton published a book that threatened the young colony and its residents’ covenant with God. New English Canaan, a three-part text published in Amsterdam in 1637, includes a brief section at the end offers a withering critique of the Puritans and the society they were building, including their treatment of Native Americans. Puritans outlawed the text in their colonies, but the book has cropped up continuously over the last four centuries.”
Christina Sterbenz writes: “As calls for censorship in libraries and school districts continue to escalate—and personal attacks on those who oppose these attempts persist—library workers are finding new ways to protect themselves, the books they care so much about, and intellectual freedom in their communities. Some are adjusting their policies on book challenges or trying to improve the dialogue with patrons. Others are fighting back through the judicial system. Even state lawmakers are supporting the right to read with bills to curtail book bans.”
American Libraries feature, Sept./Oct.
Nomi Hague writes: “Although often exciting and enjoyable, for some children the new school year can also be stressful and anxiety provoking if their names are challenging for their teachers and classmates to pronounce. Some questions that children in these situations might be grappling with are: Will my new teacher be able to say and spell my name? Will the other kids be able to remember my name? Can or should I change my name to make it easier for everyone else?” The books in this list remind children to celebrate their own and other people’s names.
Matus Formanek writes: “DSpace open-source software supports numerous digital libraries and repositories around the world. With the release of DSpace version 7, a natural question that arises is whether the new version offers enough new functionalities to motivate system administrators to upgrade. Older versions of DSpace have reached the end of their developer support period or are reaching it in mid-2023. Based on our own upgrade experience, we propose suggestions and recommendations on migrating from the previous DSpace 6.3-based environment to the new one.”
Information Technology and Libraries, Sept. 18
Matt Bloom writes: “A former librarian will receive $250,000 from the High Plains Library District [in Weld County, Colorado] as part of a settlement in a lengthy civil rights dispute over her firing. Brooky Parks lost her job at Erie Community branch in 2021 after promoting anti-racism and LGBTQ history workshops for teens. The programming drew backlash from the district’s board of trustees, which oversees more than a dozen public libraries across Northern Colorado. As part of the settlement, the district adopted new rules to encourage programming that is more ‘inclusive and diverse.’”
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