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A vote by the Lafayette Public Library, LA, Board of Control to reject a grant for a discussion on voting rights, which resulted in former director Teresa Elberson abruptly opting to retire, has highlighted longstanding issues between the board and library administration, and fears for the library’s future.

Budgets, modestly up, reflect pre-COVID planning, but how they’re spent has changed drastically: Circ, hours, and staffing see major pandemic drops while tech, e-content, and safety spending rise.

Despite partisan clashes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and economic headwinds, voters largely came through for public libraries in 2020.

Next week, Sno-Isle Libraries, WA, will hold orientation sessions for its second cohort of aspiring IT professionals—nearly 50 residents of Snohomish and Island counties who will spend the next 25 weeks studying for CompTIA A+ certification, a common requirement for entry-level IT and computer service technician jobs.

COVID shifts drove falling print circ and rising ebooks. But will it last? LJ's 2021 Materials Survey looks at some of the last year's trends.

In the messy middle of the pandemic, library leaders share how things have changed since March 2020, their takeways, and continuing challenges.

The session “Small and Rural Libraries: A Candid Discussion,” held at the American Library Association (ALA) 2021 virtual Midwinter Meeting, began—as one might expect, during a year of pandemic, budget cuts, and major disruptions—by looking at the challenges small libraries face. But it quickly turned into a celebration of how they are meeting the needs of patrons, communities, and staff with imaginative, humane solutions.

When Baltimore County Public Libraries (BCPL) implemented its successful Lawyers in the Library program at its Essex branch in 2016, it was a way to offer legal help to those in need who didn’t have the means to hire a lawyer on their own. However, library staff began to realize that there was more that could be done. So the library and Maryland Legal Aid decided to create the Mobile Library Law Center.

On Thursday, January 14, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio released his preliminary FY22 budget, as well as outlining cuts to be enacted this year. All three of the city’s library systems—Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), New York Public Library (NYPL), and Queens Public Library (QPL)—will see cuts to their operating budgets, with subsequent reductions spread out through 2025.

With most patrons still unable to browse the stacks, public librarians are finding creative ways to provide the experience of serendipitous discovery through book bundles and grab bags.

On the afternoon of December 21, Congress released and passed a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending package. The FY21 budget, along with a $900 billion Emergency COVID Relief spending package, includes a $5 million increase from FY20 for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), including nearly $2 million for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). The bill did not, however, include direct funding for libraries.

Gina Millsap, CEO and director of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library (TSCPL) for the past 15 years, retired on December 1. LJ caught up with her on her next-to-last day at TSCPL to find out more about her achievements, her challenges, and what’s next on her agenda.

On August 11, St. Louis County Library (SLCL), MO, announced the layoffs of 122 part-time workers. All 600 employees, both full- and part-time, had been paid during nearly three months while library buildings were closed. But a number of staff, along with other supporters, feel that the layoffs will impact services once the library reopens. Some workers have also alleged that the layoffs were retaliatory.

Covering topics such as Black studies, business, history, nature, statistics, and technology, the following databases will help academic and public libraries meet the research needs of patrons—a task that's become even more difficult now that access to physical materials is more limited owing to the pandemic.

From open outdoor areas to fantastic and functional fixtures, sustainable systems to to study spaces, LJ's 2020 Year in Architecture roundup celebrates the best new construction and renovation in public and academic libraries across the country.

Publishers and librarians offer their perspective on what makes for a great reference collection, and how to maintain it to serve all information seekers.

Library Journal covers many projects initiated within libraries, but occasionally a great idea is born of sheer fandom. The Library Land Project emerged from consultants Greg Peverill-Conti and Adam Zand’s love of libraries, and their goal to visit as many in their home state of Massachusetts as possible—and kept growing from there.

Whether librarians are providing services in-person or virtually, reference has changed with the pandemic.

While the nation is on tenterhooks waiting for votes to be tallied in the general election, a number of critical library ballot measures were decided on election day—and the wins far outnumbered the losses.

In Maryland, public libraries across the state have developed models for maximizing the impact of social justice–focused virtual programs by copresenting and cross-promoting selected events. Maryland libraries were able to rely on high quality programs from neighboring systems to provide a more robust lineup of virtual events. 

Rhode Island's Cranston Public Library, promoting equity and cohesion in a rapidly changing city through its deep involvement in civic life, wins the 2020 Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize, developed in partnership with the Gerald M. Kline Family Foundation.

The Central Arkansas Library System, Georgia's Gwinnett County Library System, and South Carolina's Union County Library System demonstrate the focus on equity, social justice, and the health of their communities that has earned them Honorable Mention for the 2020  Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize.

In 2020, the Nashville Public Library (NPL) looked to expand its Civil Right Center with a new Votes For Women room. After 18 months of planning, the grand opening was scheduled to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, which cleared the way for women to vote. As the COVID-19 pandemic evolved, the NPL realized that the grand celebrations envisioned would not be possible.

When Urban Librarians Unite (ULU) chose "Librarians at Work" as its 2020 conference theme last year, no one could have anticipated what a loaded concept that would be by September. The decision in July to take its eighth annual conference virtual proved to be a good one; people were enthusiastic, and by the September 11 date had some experience with virtual gatherings—and it allowed ULU, a New York City–based library workers' advocacy nonprofit, to expand its offerings to attendees and speakers who might not have been able to travel to the customary site at Brooklyn Public Library's Grand Army Plaza.

When Multnomah County Library (MCL), OR, announced its plan in July to reduce staff by some 14 percent, staff and members of peer institutions responded with anger and concern that library services would be compromised, even as management defended the cuts as necessary stewardship of library funds in a changing service environment. After two months of outcry on the part of staff and others, on September 2 MCL Director Vailey Oehlke issued a press release drastically rolling back the number of cuts. 

As COVID-related budget cuts hit libraries, directors and deans must decide what their communities need most.

It is important for library leaders to realize that every other local organization or unit of government who responded to the COVID disaster with compassion, engagement, and their best efforts also has a great story to tell. During times of austerity, the narratives that matter are about direct and measurable outcomes for people who used your service, visited your program, accessed your collections, or interacted with your staff.

How can librarians determine when their implicit bias has guided them into viewing Black patron behavior as dangerous, and hence guided them to call 911, and when a situation is actually dangerous and requires a police response? 

Central Technology (Cen-Tec), developers of the i-circ line of self-check stations, created Point 2 Click, a patent-pending adapter that enables library patrons to use public touchscreen interfaces without ever physically touching the screens. The adapters were developed in response to heightened cleaning protocols as libraries reopen branches during the COVID-19 pandemic.

UPDATE 9/10/20:  On September 3, the REALM project published the results of the fourth round of Battelle’s laboratory testing for COVID-19 on five materials common to archives, libraries, and museums. Results show that after six days of quarantine the SARS-CoV-2 virus was still detected on all five materials tested. When compared to Test 1, which resulted in nondetectable virus after three days on an unstacked hardcover book, softcover book, plastic protective cover, and DVD case, the results of Test 4 highlight the effect of stacking and its ability to prolong the survivability of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

California’s 2020 wildfire season is one of the worst on record, with fires causing extensive damage to homes, businesses, and forestland. Libraries across the state have largely escaped severe fire or smoke damage. However, harsh smoke conditions have curtailed many libraries’ curbside or front-door pickup services, and the resources they have offered patrons in past wildfire seasons, such as assistance filing claims and in-library computer use, are impossible to provide safely because of COVID-19 related library closures.

From youth to adults, newcomers to lifelong locals, library literacy programs that work flex to achieve what matters to each patron—with an emphasis on practical, everyday, and community-building skills.

While exact demographics are hard to come by, the informal consensus seems to be that members of most public libraries’ board of trustees or directors are largely white, well-off, and older. Meanwhile, the communities they represent are often far more diverse.

New Libraries open at Anne Arundel County, Edmonton, and East Baton Rouge Parish; work is almost finished at the Joseph Anderson Cook Library on the University of Southern Mississippi’s (USM) Hattiesburg campus; Bayport is transforming a convent into a "world-class" library; and Michael Bloomberg has given a large gift to help build a new Medford PL.

No matter how conscientiously libraries stick to protocol, many have had to roll back reopening operations recently as employees fall ill or report positive COVID-19 tests or contact with others who test positive—or in some cases, as case counts in their areas rise or patrons refuse to comply with masking or social distancing regulations. 

UPDATE: On August 25, the Douglas County Library Board of Trustees voted 3–2 to approve an investigation into Amy Dodson and her staff over the proposed diversity statement. The investigation, to be conducted by an independent firm, would cost an estimated $30,000, although the scope of the investigation was not specified.

Black Lives Matter. Indigenous people should be honored and recognized. Xenophobia is not acceptable. This movement across our country is a call to action, and libraries are redefining what the scope of this work entails and how we need to take the appropriate action to create a safe space for everyone.

As libraries offer essential services during the COVID pandemic, they face the added challenge of protecting the health and safety of staff and patrons. Necessary adaptations include effective and affordable personal protective equipment (PPE) for library staff, sanitization stations for staff and patrons, touch-free checkouts, the replacement of meeting room locks with digital contactless entry devices, and revamped floor plans and public spaces.

Following a successful virtual version of its Annual conference in June, the American Library Association (ALA) announced on August 6 that in light of the continuing pandemic, the next Midwinter meeting, originally scheduled to be held in Indianapolis in January 2021, will also be an all-virtual event.

New directors include Joslyn Bowling Dixon at Newark, NJ; John Herron at Kansas City, MO; and Joan R. Johnson at Milwaukee; Dana Canedy and Lisa Lucas bring fresh faces to big publishing; Urban Libraries Council elects its 20–21 executive board, with DC Public Library Director Richard Reyes-Gavilan to serve as Chair; and more library people news for August 4, 2020.

Libraries can and should continue to apply creative problem-solving to mitigate the worst impacts of this pandemic on staff and users. There is a limit to what even the most nimble, inventive, and dedicated libraries—or even consortia or associations—can fix. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing we can do. We need to think bigger and to throw the collective power of our profession toward advocacy for large-scale solutions.

Even the villainy of COVID-19 couldn’t dash the hopes of comics and pop culture fans expecting to attend the annual San Diego Comic-Con, canceled this year for the first time since its inception in 1970. Rising to fill the programming void was the virtual convention, Comic-Con@Home, held July 22–26, offering more than 400 hours of online events freely available to the public.

It’s important for a library board to strike a balance when it comes to supporting the library’s director. While no director wishes to be micromanaged, they certainly want to be supported. When a director is challenged with personnel issues, they would ideally call upon human resources (HR) for practical solutions. But what about directors who oversee a library that isn’t large enough to justify such a position? In these cases, and even in some libraries with HR leadership, the director turns to a personnel committee for guidance, collaboration, and support.

On July 2, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) introduced the bipartisan Library Stabilization Fund Act in both chambers (S.4181 and H.R.7486, respectively). The legislation, introduced with 13 cosponsors on both sides of the aisle in the Senate and 27 in the House, would establish a dedicated $2 billion fund to be administered by IMLS that would address the financial losses incurred in the pandemic shutdown and bolster library services going forward, with priority given to the hardest-hit communities.

Siobhan Reardon, who served as president and director of the Free Library of Philadelphia (FLP) since 2008, has resigned in the wake of accusations of systemic racism throughout the library. The library has been accused of discrimination for several years, including in public discussion during City Council budget hearings in April 2019.

ValChoice, an independent data analytics company focused on the U.S. insurance industry, is offering public and academic libraries permanent, unlimited access to online calculators, insurance company ratings, tutorials and “how-to” videos, worksheets, and other tools designed to help users understand how insurance—such as car and home insurance—is priced, and how to decide on policies based on their age, deductibles, coverage limits, and other factors.

As the field increasingly expands to include work with a wide range of physical and electronic materials, resources, and data, the question “What is a librarian?” does not have an easy answer. Prerequisites for any librarian job include curiosity and a desire to help expand others’ knowledge. But a satisfying library career may take many forms.

Advancing Racial Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace, a virtual symposium hosted by the Denver Public Library (DPL) on July 8–10, convened academic and public librarians and others who discussed equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) work, the emotional toll it takes, and barriers such as white supremacy culture.

In summer 2016, four librarians—Jessica Anne Bratt, Amita Lonial, Sarah Lawton, and Amy Sonnie—created Libraries 4 Black Lives (L4BL), an online space for libraries to support the Movement for Black Lives and develop a support community for advocates doing racial justice work in libraries. While L4BL is no longer active, Bratt, youth services manager at the Grand Rapids Public Library, MI, has continued her advocacy and social justice work. LJ recently caught up with her to find out more about what she’s been doing.

Chicago Public Library's Merlo Branch and Indianapolis PL's Martindale-Brightwood Branch have opened to the public, while work is proceeding—after some delays—on St. Louis County PL's Eureka Hills Branch, the new North Branch of Clinton-Macomb PL, and Carroll County PL's Exploration Commons.

In many towns across the United States, seeing members of the police in the public library is common-place. Off-duty officers moonlight as library security guards. Library programs like “Coffee with a Cop” aim to help the police develop closer bonds of trust with the community. And police are often called to deal with behavioral issues or threats to patron or staff safety. But as the past weeks of protest after the police killing of George Floyd, among others, make plain, for a substantial portion of patrons and staff, the presence of the police is itself a threat.

How do you reopen a library with no guidelines or best practices to work from? That’s the question public leaders and staff are considering as library buildings gradually open across the country.

Most public libraries stopped distributing materials during the pandemic to stop the spread of the coronavirus. But that doesn’t mean they stopped distributing anything. Some leveraged their expertise at getting resources into the hands of patrons to help those suddenly struggling with the bare essentials of life: food, diapers, the means to clean up, or a place to sleep.

Though most libraries remain closed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, public librarians are still connecting with their patrons—thanks, in part, to virtual book clubs.

School and public librarians are joining forces to help socially distanced kids finish the school year and stay strong through summer.

The American Library Association’s (ALA) recent survey on how U.S. public, academic, and K–12 libraries have responded to the coronavirus pandemic will not surprise anyone with an eye on the field, but serves as a snapshot of mid-May concerns and projections.

Kaetrena Davis Kendrick recently completed a new study examining low workplace morale among public librarians, and is working on a report analyzing responses to a November 2018 call for librarians who wished to talk about their experiences. What she discovered included a disturbing level of abuse coming from patrons, a lack of institutional support to help librarians resolve such issues, and a mindset in which librarians view surviving such abuses as “earning their stripes.”

Some libraries are already attempting to reopen their physical locations to the public, at least to some limited extent. Others, in harder hit areas or with local governments more focused on stopping the spread of Coronavirus, are still months away. But all are considering how to reconfigure their space, as well as their service, to best shield staff and patron health.

With buildings closed to flatten the COVID-19 curve, libraries respond with a rapid pivot to contactless service.

As libraries approach their third month of closure, many institutions that had continued to pay employees—whether or not they were able to engage in active work—are now turning to layoffs or furloughs, often citing concerns about budget cuts.

There’s been a trend in articles coming out in major publications about how excited people are to get back to their libraries and how resilient libraries are. While they pay important attention to the needs libraries are still striving to meet in their communities, these narratives do nothing to expose the miserable realities that library workers are experiencing, or incite any kind of action to be taken in their defense.

A handful of shuttered library buildings across the country are temporarily providing workspace that allows essential workers and services to properly social distance amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Construction work is scheduled for the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, OH, and Saugatuck-Douglas District Library, MI; Paramus Public Library has applied for NJ Construction Bond funding; and yes, there's a podcast for everything—now, a new library construction podcast from the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shuttered public libraries nationwide, compelling librarians to quickly deploy virtual alternatives to programming and online learning while boosting electronic collections to meet a growing demand. But these virtual offerings often leave out some of public libraries' most devoted yet vulnerable patrons: those who are unhoused or coping with mental health problems or substance use.

In the midst of the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, many library workers and archivists have carried on with what they do best—gathering and preserving information for future researchers. Numerous digital archives are already capturing life during lockdown, represented through images, journals, videos, and other formats.

We all know that libraries are under attack, especially in regards to funding, pretty much all the time. I think part of our collective fear at this moment is local governments thinking that because we closed that we aren't really that important. I believe some are feeling that tension without verbalizing this sentiment. We worry about the short-term as well as the long-term consequences that our closings will have on our libraries. However, I do not thinking rushing to reopen solves this issue.

In her new role at the NYPL Performing Arts Library, Jennifer Schantz will blend her passion for classical music and her dedication to libraries and museums.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced on April 13 that it would begin steps to distribute the first $30 million appropriated to the agency through the federal Coronavirus Aid Package, or CARES Act. The $2 trillion emergency funding legislation, which passed on March 27, included a $50 million package spearheaded by the Washington Office of the American Library Association (ALA) to help ensure that libraries could continue to provide workforce development, connectivity, and digital content during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, as well as to protect core library services in the face of future expected cuts and to help support library organizations.

Libraries have a vital role to play in the census—especially this year, as the process moved primarily online, increasing the potential for undercounts of those on the wrong side of the digital divide. Historically, libraries have assisted the U.S. Census Bureau in helping people apply for field operations jobs, promoting the census, providing informational materials, educating patrons about census misinformation, and assisting patrons in the library with filling out response forms. However, much has changed with the spread of COVID-19 and the closure of thousands of libraries.

Librarians and other library staff, especially part-time workers and those who have been laid off or forced to take pay cuts or personal leave because of COVID-19 shutdowns, are often struggling to pay their bills, the promised $1,200 stimulus check notwithstanding. To address that need, the EveryLibrary Institute has launched the Help a Library Worker Out (HALO) Fund.

UPDATE: The HALO Fund is ready to start taking applications on a cash-available basis. You can apply at everylibraryinstitute.org/haloapply.

With their on-site, physical work temporarily on hold during the coronavirus outbreak, conservators and other museum, library, and archive workers have started a grassroots movement to collect and donate their supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) to healthcare workers on the front lines of their work with COVID-19 patients.

With colleges and universities across the country shutting down their campuses and moving to distance learning to slow the COVID-19 pandemic, academic librarians are being forced to up their reference game abruptly.

The lights are out at libraries across the country, but the WiFi signal is staying strong even during a time of unprecedented closures.

Whether lobbying legislators for funding libraries or a foundation for new shelving, public library leaders, communications staff, and even frontline workers need to be efficient and nimble when articulating their impacts to outside stakeholders. Crucially, they need to approach the question from the vantage of how the library’s outcomes align with that particular stakeholder’s mission.

Deciding whether—and when—to close doors to the public is merely the first of countless decisions that librarians have had to make during the COVID-19 outbreak. Library Journal’s survey of public library responses to COVID-19 captures the myriad behind-the-scenes choices, such as whether or not staff will continue to report to work in person after libraries are closed, that public libraries are facing as they handle the crisis.
 

In a week of closures and cancelations, the New York Public Library announced some rare good news: The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture has acquired artist and activist Harry Belafonte’s personal archives.

As recommendations to slow the spread of COVID-19 across the country become common knowledge, public events have been canceled, public schools have closed, and calls for social distancing to flatten the curve have become the norm. But some libraries remain divided on whether to remain open but suspend public programming, outreach, or meeting room rentals; limit hours; or close entirely.

Nearly four months after Macmillan enacted its 60-day embargo on library ebooks, the state of digital collections is still a subject of intense interest in the field. This played out at the Public Library Association (PLA) conference, held in Nashville, TN, on 25–29, when the panel “Building the Case for #eBooksForAll” saw attendance of close to 300 conferencegoers.

The engaged and engaging slate of speakers at the Public Library Association (PLA) 2020 conference, held from February 25–29 in Nashville, TN, featured guests ranging from politicians to lawyers to journalists to satirists. Audiences filled the ballroom at Nashville’s Music City Center for each keynoter, and every session ended with an excited buzz and plenty of conversation.

Library Journal’s reception at PLA celebrated Sacramento Public Library, the inaugural winner of the $250,000 Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize, for the many ways it is deeply embedded in its community. Director Rivkah Sass brought some 16 SPL staff members—all color-coordinated in purple and gray “#1” team jerseys—as well as Sacramento City Council member and Mayor Pro Tem Angelique Ashby to join the party.

Library budgets continued to expand in 2019, but varying areas of growth make patterns—and predictions—hard to discern.

As LJ’s materials survey grew too complex, we turned to vendor data for a granular look at what’s selling to libraries.

Referenda: 2019 library ballot measures see success in renewals, less for new funding.

The Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize, developed in partnership between the Gerald M. Kline Family Foundation and Library Journal, was created in 2019 to recognize the public library as a vital community asset. When libraries, civic entities, organizations, and the people they serve become close partners, their communities thrive. One winning library will receive $250,000 in unfettered monies from the Gerald M. Kline Family Foundation, and will be profiled in the November issue of Library Journal and online.

Public libraries are using new vendor solutions to enhance local schools’ ebook and audiobook collections, creating a new generation of library users.

In the first step of a now-familiar process, the Trump administration’s preliminary FY21 budget , submitted on February 10, calls for drastic cuts and eliminations of cultural and educational agencies, including—for the fourth year in a row—zeroing out the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), among others “as part of the Administration's plan to move the Nation towards fiscal responsibility and to redefine the proper role of the Federal Government.”

The design for Ontario’s Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada is unveiled, Babson College’s Horn Library gets a new Commons, St. Charles Public Library District will join three sections of the library, and the unBound Library Branch of Meridian Library District, ID, is scheduled to reopen in a new location this fall.

Cleveland Public Library (CPL) management and its library workers’ union have narrowly averted a 400-person strike that would have temporarily closed some of its 27 branches and reduced services across the system. As negotiations extended past the union’s contract expiration, the library was also criticized by union members and their supporters for its social media messaging around the labor dispute.

Keith Kesler, social media librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library, was looking for a way for the library to commemorate the late Kobe Bryant and his legacy. The result was Kobe’s Bookshelf, a list of books that inspired Bryant, as well as works he wrote or created. LJ caught up with Kesler to find out more about compiling the list, and what he learned about Bryant in the process.

This year’s Public Library Association (PLA) Conference will be held in Nashville, from February 25–29—the first time PLA has been held in the Southeast in 20 years. Nashville Public Library (NPL) was LJ’s 2017 Library of the Year; the library—and city—have continued to grow and evolve.

George F. Coe named President and CEO of Brodart Co.; Gayle Hunter Holloman approved as Executive Director of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System; Kathelene McCarty Smith appointed Interim Head of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives; and more library people news.

R. Crosby Kemper III, director of Missouri’s Kansas City Public Library (KCPL) since 2005, was nominated in November 2019 by President Donald Trump to serve as the next director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. He was endorsed by the American Library Association (ALA), and voted into the position by the U.S. Senate on January 9.

Arizona State University's Hayden Library reopens, MIT's Hayden Library plans a renovation, Deschutes PL acquires new land, and the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County launches a multiyear system-wide improvement project.

Merchandising can be implemented strategically at libraries, just as it is in retail, and can increase circulation, stimulate robust discussions, and generate foot traffic. To drive circ, how you showcase your materials can be as important as what you buy.

Over the years, public libraries have expanded their electronic collections. The evolution of library interfaces has allowed many physical services to extend into a digital space, empowering patrons to check out ebooks, read magazines and journals, stream movies, listen to audiobooks, and more. The demand for digital collections only continues to grow.

Under H.R. 1865, IMLS, LSTA, Comprehensive Literary Grants, the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Library of Medicine, and the Library of Congress will all have increased budgets.

The 2019 New Landmark Libraries celebrates six paradigm-shifting public libraries designed around their communities' changing needs.

The Central Library branch of Tulsa City-County Library, OK, is one of six winners of our New Landmark Libraries for 2019. Its $55 million renovation transformed the original library and created an event space for 400, an interactive and expansive outdoor plaza, and 26 percent more public programming across its five stories. In collaboration with the city, the project was intentionally designed to revitalize the downtown core.

The Half Moon Bay Library of San Mateo County Libraries, CA, is one of six winners of our New Landmark Libraries for 2019. The new building, certified as Zero Net Energy and LEED Platinum, is the culmination of 20 years of planning, engagement, and design led by the library system in collaboration with Noll & Tam Architects.