Thirteen libraries recognized in American Libraries’ 2019 Library Design Showcase

Honorees include new buildings, renovations, and expansions in the US and Canada

CHICAGO — Thirteen new and renovated libraries—and the architecture firms that designed them—have been recognized in American Libraries’ 2019 Library Design Showcase, which appears in the magazine’s September/October issue and is available online today. 

In its 31st annual iteration, the showcase honors innovative and interesting constructions that effectively address library user needs in the United States and Canada. The highlighted projects—a mix of public, academic, school, and special libraries—were completed between May 1, 2018, and April 30, 2019.

This year’s recognized libraries are:

Barbara J. Burger iZone at University of Rochester in New York
Architect: Holt Architects

Central Rappahannock Regional Library’s Spotsylvania Towne Centre branch in Fredericksburg, Virginia
Architect: George K. Somers, Architect

Flowing Wells Library, Pima County (Ariz.) Public Library
Architect: Line and Space Architects

The Gioconda and Joseph King Library in Palm Beach, Florida
Architect: Kirchhoff & Associates Architects

Greenville County (S.C.) Library System’s Five Forks branch
Architect: McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture and Margaret Sullivan Studio

Idea Exchange Old Post Office in Cambridge, Ontario
Architect: RDHA

New Haven (Conn.) Free Public Library
Architect: Margaret Sullivan Studio

Norman (Okla.) Public Library East, Pioneer Library System
Architect: MSR Design/The McKinney Partnership Architects

Palo Alto (Calif.) High School
Architect: HED

Richland Library Main in Columbia, South Carolina
Architect: Boudreaux, McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, and Margaret Sullivan Studio

Stoughton (Mass.) Public Library
Architect: Finegold Alexander Architects

Vellore Village Library, Vaughn (Ont.) Public Libraries
Architect: ZAS Architects

Wisconsin School of Business Learning Commons in Madison
Architect: Potter Lawson/MSR Design

Other inspiring architecture and design content in American Libraries’ September/October 2019 issue includes the 2019 American Library Association/American Institute of Architects Library Building Awards, case studies in new library construction, and columns on inclusive and participatory design.

Be sure to listen to the Dewey Decibel podcast’s September 30 episode, which will feature stories related to architecture and design, when it arrives later this month.