The last boom in publicly funded library construction—from the 19th-century Carnegie temples of learning to the practical but unexciting urban box models that proliferated in the middle of the 20th—featured buildings that were often literal in their interpretation of the library as a place for everyone, everywhere. As the projects featured this year demonstrate, while libraries still welcome all community members, their design has become more purpose-driven, with careful thought given to who they serve, where, and in what ways—and how best to ensure that their spaces will function for another hundred years.

Appleton Public Library, WI; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), architect; Dave Burk, photo.

LJ’s team of architects, designers, and editors were struck by the resourcefulness of the renovations, retrofits, and new builds submitted for the 2025 Year in Architecture. Libraries across the country are contending with constrained budgets and uncertain fiscal futures, but they have combined practicality with imagination to produce an impressive range of projects that speak to their communities’ needs in specific—yet expansively congenial—ways.

Midland Library, OR; Bora Architecture & Interiors, colloqate Design, architects; Josh Partee, photo.

Many libraries strive to deliver targeted services, from story times to workforce development. But no matter what the size of the facility, their spaces generally need to do double- and triple-duty depending on a range of variables. Designers are increasingly thinking about how to provide Adaptable Environs through reconfigurable and movable elements. The University of North Carolina Wilmington Library’s Randall Hall & Discovery Hall, for example, offers highly flexible spaces for students to gather, study, work, rest, and play.

UNCW Library–Randall Hall & Discovery Hall, NC; LS3P, Shepley Bulfinch, architects; Keith Isaacs, photo.

No longer exclusively the domain of architects or library leadership, planning at all stages increasingly brings another set of experts to the table: library users. Community Co-design not only surfaces fresh ideas and helps uncover needs the planners might not envision, but it gives users a stake in their library and reasons to support it. And community members can contribute more than information and opinions. The striking new canopy at the Midland Branch of Multnomah County Library, OR, features a collaboration between two emerging BIPOC artists selected through local arts organizations and was shaped by community engagement to center the histories, cultures, and aspirations of those the library serves.

Oceanside Library, NY; H2M architects + engineers/MDA Design group Architects & Planners, architects; Robert Lowell Photography, photo.

Bringing that community in calls for strong programming and outreach, but design for high visibility helps libraries of all sizes shine. The use of full-façade treatments such as perforated metal screens that allow light to shine through at night like lanterns, or banks of windows that invite passersby to visit while showing off what is happening inside, embodies libraries’ roles in their neighborhoods as Civic Beacons. The Appleton Public Library, WI, for example, uses mirrored glass to both announce and embed itself in its cityscape.

Queen Anne’s County Library–Kent Island Branch, MD; Becker Morgan Group, Inc., architect; Matt Wargo, photo.

Areas for the youngest stakeholders continue to evolve, giving toddlers, children, and teens different opportunities to Learn Through Play. Books, seating, and play areas incorporate harmonious yet vibrant color schemes, biomorphic designs, and the opportunity for lots of freeform recreation—with designs sophisticated enough to please the eye of any accompanying adults. Physical activity is encouraged both inside and out, such as the distinctive outdoor children’s area at the Hickory Flat Library in Canton, GA, with its exuberantly colored components that encourage movement and fun.

Milne Library, SUNY Geneseo, NY; JMZ Architects + Planners, P.C.; Ray Sheley, R3D Media, photo.

Design that takes Organic Inspiration from the natural world doesn’t stop at children’s spaces. Libraries are incorporating elements from their outdoor environments throughout their buildings with the use of organic colors, patterns, textures, and materials. Abundant natural light is to be found nearly everywhere. And to emphasize the sense of fluidity, plantings are often brought inside, with interior design themes extended into courtyards and decking, such as the carryover of the cool indoor color palette used outside the Oceanside Library, NY.

Wabash Carnegie Public Library, IN; MKM architecture+design, architect; Timothy Brumbeloe, Brumbeloe Fine Art Photography, photo.

These libraries have been designed to last and thrive, thanks to increased emphasis on making Sustainable Choices wherever possible. Often, lessons were learned the hard way through climate change–driven events. The growing awareness of the importance of sustainable materials and energy sources, plus the need to reuse what can be saved—as an economical measure and to satisfy the aesthetics of modernizing a legacy building—has helped drive smarter solutions; renovations such as the Pima County Martha Cooper Library, AZ, demonstrate how both energy conservation and material reuse can work together.

These and many other themes demonstrate the ways that library design is adapting to a wide range of changing needs and finding creative solutions to move away from one-size-fits-all approaches, all while keeping the principle of welcome at the forefront—as the appealing pathway up to the Forest Park Branch of the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, OH, on our cover illustrates. Come on in!

BACK TO YEAR IN ARCHITECTURE 2025 LANDING PAGE

Library Journal’s architecture roundup includes both academic and public library projects completed in the 12 months prior to July 2025. Four academic libraries submitted forms about their construction projects. On the public library side, we received details about 30 renovations and 16 new buildings.

Many thanks to our panel of advisors who helped evaluate this year’s projects:

Ray Johnston l Founding Partner, Johnston Architects

Lynn Kawaratani l Arts and Humanities Librarian—Architecture; and Manager, Architecture Archives, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

Daniel LaRossa l Architect, Associate Principal, Group 4 Architecture, Research + Planning, Inc.

Mona Zellers l Partner, Johnston Architects