Libraries have always been much more than just repositories for books and other materials. They’ve also been centers for community learning and brought people together to improve their lives.

This goal has become even more important in the digital era. With more media and information moving online, reducing the need for storage of physical materials, a larger portion of library spaces is being used to help forge social connections and build a sense of community.

“The Internet’s promise of connecting everyone together has [largely devolved into] separating people into their own little bubbles,” says R. Drayton Fair, senior principal for LLB Architects. “A key goal of libraries today is to help bring people together.”

As a result of this shift, “we’re seeing a broadening of perspectives about what a library facility should include,” says Christopher Noll, principal for Noll & Tam Architects.

The traditional Carnegie model of a library building with spaces for collections, a service desk, a children’s area, a reading room, and a community assembly room is no longer sufficient. Modern libraries are active, dynamic environments with spaces for community learning, sharing, creating, and socializing.

Here are some examples of innovative library spaces and structures that support these evolving requirements, from some of the leading designers of library facilities today.

Group 4 Architecture, Research + Planning, Inc. 

Group 4 Architecture, Research + Planning, Inc. is a full-service architecture firm that creates places for communities to gather, imagine, and grow. Based in San Francisco, the firm will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.

Group 4 has designed projects all over the country, and “libraries are the projects we enjoy most of all,” says Associate Principal Jill Eyres. Library Forward, a division of Group 4, offers a full complement of design services spanning a library’s entire life cycle—from visioning, strategic planning, needs assessment, and branding to interior design, signage, furniture services, and more.

Using a highly participatory process, Group 4 collaborates with clients to understand the community’s vision before engaging in design. “Every library project is different, and not all communities want the same things,” Eyres observes. The firm evaluates each design against four key considerations: community, culture, economy, and environmental impact.

Recently, Group 4 worked with Chabot College in Hayward, California, to design the $91 million, 100,000-square-foot Chabot College Library and Learning Connection, which replaces the college’s existing library with a new facility scheduled to open in 2024.

With this building, the college wanted “to reinvent the nature of what a library can be,” says Principal David Schnee.

Chabot College is a public community college serving more than 13,000 students, many of whom are minority and/or first-generation college students. By incorporating key design elements that bring people together and instill a sense of community pride, Group 4 has sought to create an environment promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion.

For instance, the facility includes entrances on all sides. “Whichever direction you come from, you’re welcomed into the building,” Schnee says. A central atrium with a large, social stairway contains student artwork, symbols of various learning communities, and maps of the campus, the Bay Area, and California as a whole, so visitors get a sense of where they are and what their community is like.

The building is three stories tall, with first and second floor lofts in one wing creating extra levels. Because most of the campus’s other buildings are only one or two stories, the top floor of the library affords panoramic, 360-degree views.

“In the Bay Area, people with privilege and resources live up on the hill,” Schnee says. “Hayward is in the flats. Typically, it’s the president and the people in power whose offices are on the top floor of the tower. In this library, the top floor is about equity. It gives students a place that’s their own. There’s a terrace with an outdoor classroom where students can see out toward the bay.”

In designing the new library, Group 4 aimed to empower students with a modern study environment, social and cultural exchanges, and a holistic student experience.

Intuitive way finding helps students find the resources they need to be successful. Spaces for socializing, such as a marketplace and café, help students meet others and build a sense of community. Natural lighting and visibility make the library seem warm and inviting. 

Students also have acoustically diverse spaces that meet various needs. The first floor is active, with students making social connections. The second floor is abuzz with students engaged in collaborative learning. The third floor is quiet for individual study.

“From the moment students walk in, they should see community, resources, assistance, and themselves. This is what really guided the project,” Schnee concludes. “Visitors should see their peers and staff members socializing, studying, and learning; student art displayed in unique and interactive ways; and learning communities engaged in academic and social activities.”

Noll & Tam Architects 

For more than 30 years, Noll & Tam has been designing civic and community buildings along the West Coast. Public and academic libraries are one of the firm’s specialties; in fact, its first project was the library for the University of California at Berkeley. The company’s motto is “uncommon spaces for the common good.” 

“We produce beautiful designs, but always with the public’s interest at heart,” says Principal Christopher Noll.

To achieve this mission, Noll & Tam engages the community deeply in the design process. In addition to holding public meetings, the firm convenes focus groups and meets with civic leaders to understand the values that are important to the community.

“We don’t see ourselves as heroes in capes, sweeping in and telling people what they need,” Noll says.

This collaborative approach extends to teens as well. Through a process that Noll & Tam calls YODA, or the “Youth Opportunity Design Approach,” the company gives stipends to local teenagers in exchange for their input into the design of not just the teen section, but also the entire library.

“We’ve found that the input we get from teens is incredibly valuable,” Noll explains. “They have a better perspective on the future direction of libraries than many adults.”

Libraries bring people together and help improve their lives, and the Hayward Library and Community Learning Center in Hayward, California, is a good example. Designed by Noll & Tam and completed in early 2020, the project was recognized with a Special Commendation in Design for Integration by AIA California.

Located adjacent to the city’s main downtown park, this three-story, 58,000-square-foot library serves a highly diverse community with a wide range of needs. The library includes an adult learning center, a homework center for children and teens, and a media production studio. “There are many kinds of literacies,” Noll observes, “and we wanted spaces for all of them.” A variety of meeting rooms extend out over the street within a glass-enclosed bay, and there are also spaces for “pop-up” presentations on the third floor. 

Sustainability was a key value that emerged in conversations with the community, so the new Hayward Library and Community Learning Center was designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification. The facility is one of the largest Zero Net Energy public libraries in the country and includes a rainwater catchment system that will save and recycle 500,000 gallons of water per year.

The building includes spaces for people to come together and learn or work collaboratively, as well as quiet areas patrons can retreat to. “There are a variety of seating options, so people can choose the space where they’ll be most comfortable,” Noll says.

HBM Architects 

Founded in 1976 and based in Cleveland, Ohio, HBM is a nationally recognized, award-winning architectural and interior design firm focused on the planning and design of public buildings. 

We have been working with library clients from the beginning,” says President and Director of Design Peter Bolek. “We have evolved to become specialists in library design, and within the last 10 years, we have focused exclusively on public, academic, and specialty libraries such as research, medical, law and special collection libraries. This gives us a real depth of knowledge that we bring to our library clients.”

Newly built or renovated libraries can revitalize a community, Bolek says. As an example, he points to Kanawha County Public Library in Charleston, West Virginia, a 2023 AIA West Virginia Honor Award winner.

Originally built as a United States Post Office and courthouse in 1914, the former library building had a stately presence but did not work as a library building in terms of its form or function. There was no arking on site, and the facility had not kept up with the evolving needs of libraries in the 21st century.

In reimagining Kanawha County Public Library, HBM renovated and expanded the existing building to create a more user-friendly and flexible interior space that could adapt and grow over time. 

The interior layout balances spaces for collections and patrons and includes 27 different meeting areas, as well as an “idea lab” where hand tools are demonstrated and loaned out to patrons. A café operated by a local vendor overlooks a newly designed plaza with a reflecting pool, and a skywalk connects to an adjacent parking garage.

“We created a modern, 21st-century library within this existing historic treasure, bringing new life to the old town center,” Bolek says.

As places for learning and socializing, libraries have become modern hubs within their communities, he observes. As a result, it makes sense that many new library facilities would be co-located with other community destinations and services, bringing shared benefits to area residents.

For instance, HBM is working with the Maitland Public Library in Florida to construct a new library facility that anchors a larger cultural arts center for the community. Other public library projects with which the firm has been involved include spaces for providing social services such as mental health counseling and food banks.

When co-locating their services with other community destinations, libraries might share their facilities with other organizations. However, each entity should have its own separate spaces, Bolek advises, explaining that otherwise, there is the potential for conflict down the road.

“Libraries can support other civic services and vice versa,” he says. “But they should complement and enhance one another, not necessarily share the same resources.”

LLB Architects 

Based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, with an office in Worcester, Massachusetts, LLB Architects (formerly Lerner, Ladds & Bartels) was founded more than 85 years ago. The firm designs commercial and municipal buildings, and libraries account for about a quarter of its work.

“We design spaces that allow people to thrive and promote well-being,” says Senior Principal R. Drayton Fair.

Many of the firm’s design projects are additions or renovations to existing buildings. “We aim to respect the context of the neighborhood in marrying the new with the old,” Fair says.

A perfect example is the Bolton Public Library in Massachusetts. The original library was built in 1902 and had only 1,700 square feet of space. LLB designed an addition that maintained the historic stone structure as an entry point but extended the building in back, bringing the total square footage to around 15,000.

The large addition is connected to the original structure both literally (through a glass connector) and through design elements and materials that replicate those of the original building. For instance, the repetition of dormers serves for both form and function, echoing those in the original structure but also creating pop-out spaces to maximize usable areas.

The original building houses cozy reading spaces, meeting areas, and historic materials. Elements in the addition include technology spaces, a separate children’s room, and an expanded administration branch. “We gave children a large space on the second floor to run around in, with bright colors,” Fair notes.

A very different project that solved similar design challenges is the Franklin Public Library in Massachusetts. The original structure, built in 1904 and expanded in 1989, has a very classical design. LLB designed a modern, 6,000-square-foot extension in the back, featuring accessible spaces and incorporating a lot of glass to brighten the structure.

“It acts as a lantern that opens the library to everyone,” Fair says.

Flexibility Is Key

The evolving needs of modern libraries have profoundly affected library design. Future-ready library facilities must be flexible and adaptable and offer a wide variety of acoustic zones, seating choices, and spatial configurations.

“Having a building that can be reconfigured for different uses is key,” says Jill Eyres, associate principal for Group 4 Architecture. The use of flexible, agile spaces and furnishings can help libraries quickly adapt to changing requirements.

For more information on library design, click here for LJ’s October cover story, “The Year In Architecture 2023.” 

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