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Please email ljevents@mediasourceinc.com if you have any questions.

Whether you're in the dreaming and planning stages or further along the design road, you'll find ideas, information, and inspiration, no matter your budget!

Library Journal and School Library Journal are thrilled to once again be hosting our long-running library building and design event in person! And we’re especially excited to be hosting it in partnership with New York Public Library at its newly renovated central circulating branch, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library.  This full-day think tank provides expert panel discussions with architects and librarians, as well as hands-on, architect-led breakout sessions tackling real-life design challenges submitted in advance by attendees. Dig deep with architects, librarians, and vendors to explore building/renovating/ retrofitting spaces both large and small that will redefine the relationship with your users and engage your community. There will be plenty of face time and networking opportunities throughout the day with colleagues.

Join us and get ideas, information, and inspiration for any design challenges your library might be facing!

Click here to see coverage of our 2019 Design Institute in Austin, TX!

This event is open to librarians, library board or foundation members, and the library’s city planners/officials. 

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To be invoiced for your registration or pay with a PO, please email your request to ljevents@mediasourceinc.com

Arch Sponsors
 

Vendo r Sponsors
 

Partners

SCHEDULE

9:00 – 9:30 AM REGISTRATION AND CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
Location: Room A (7th Floor)

9:30 – 9:40 AM WELCOME REMARKS
Meredith Schwartz|Editor-in-Chief, Library Journal
Brian Bannon|Merryl & James Tish Director, NYPL Location: Room A (7th Floor)

9:50 – 10:25 AM ENERGY IN PLACE

Architects and library employees are exploring the concept of belonging with library  designs, what does it mean to not only feel welcomed in a library space but feel like you belong there? In what ways can a library design ensure community members feel this sense of belonging when they visit and use the library? Designing for belonging and inclusion doesn’t exist only within the interior spaces of a library building, but also in the design and use of a library’s outdoor spaces and in considering what buildings, services, resources, or infrastructure is sited next to the library buildings. In this session, attendees will learn more about the ways in which  architects are exploring how to create energy in the places and spaces libraries create when renovated.

Panelists:

Peter Bolek|President and Director of Design, HBM Architects

Jeffrey Hoover|Principal, Tappé Architects

Moderator: Dr. Brandy McNeil, Director of Adult Services, NYPL

10:30 – 11:05 AM LEVERAGE WHAT YOU HAVE 

Many times, when presented with an opportunity to renovate or invest in their spaces, libraries must be creative with what they have. Designing within existing historic buildings, using existing square footage, or partnering with other organizations within the community often yield creative solutions that are more cost-effective, sustainable, and impactful than new builds. In this session, architects will discuss how they have collaborated with libraries during their renovation projects to create synergies between existing service needs within the library building or with civic or community organizations to share space, how they have been able to re-activate historic buildings and retail spaces to create contemporary library spaces, and how branch libraries become sites of design and service innovation post-renovation. 

Panelists:

Henry Myerberg|Owner and Founder, HMA2 Architects

Rick McCarthy| Library Studio Director, StudioGC

Moderator:

Risa Honig, VP of Capital Planning and Construction, NYPL

11:05 – 11:15 PM INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT: LYNGSOE SYSTEMS

11:15 – 11:30 PM BREAK

11:30 AM – 12:05 PM COMMUNITY CONNECTION

As champions of community-related issues, libraries and architects have a responsibility to deeply engage with their communities to create spaces that all community members can feel a sense of ownership in while using, and to engage community members as co-creators in the design process. Libraries and architects continue to center equity and inclusion in renovation and new building projects. In this panel, participants will learn how libraries have collaborated with their communities throughout the design process, for example translating materials or holding sessions in multiple languages, to ensure an inclusive and participatory experience that will translate into a building that is responsive and representative of the community in which it is sited. 

Panelists:

Jeffrey Hoover|Principal, Tappé Architects  

Jim Kovach|Associate Principal, VMDO

Moderator:

Sean Ferguson, Library Manager, Chatham Square Library, NYPL

12:05 – 12:15 PM INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT: CULTURAL SURROUNDINGS

12:20 – 12:55 PM JUST IN TIME DESIGN

The past two years have created challenges and opportunities for libraries to quickly change services and create new experiences with their communities to continue to connect, access resources, and learn together. As we take lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic about adaptability and flexibility, particularly designing for quickly emerging needs, we can translate these into library buildings that continue to be spaces that are resilient and responsive to current events and ever diversifying communities. In this session, architects will share their experiences designing libraries that can flip programming for spaces quickly and easily, illustrate the value of prototyping and testing both physical environments and services throughout and after the design process, and discuss how libraries are using the same footprints for different activities in even more nuanced ways than ever before. 

Panelists:

Peter Bolek|President and Director of Design, HBM Architects

Henry Myerburg|Owner and Founder, HMA2 Architects 

Moderator: 

Melissa Davis, Associate Director for the Central Bronx Neighborhood, NYPL  

12:55 – 1:55 PM LUNCH

1:55 – 3:25 PM ARCHITECT-LED BREAKOUT SESSIONS FEATURING REAL-LIFE DESIGN CHALLENGES

BREAKOUT 1: BLOOMSBURG PUBLIC LIBRARY (Bloomsburg,PA)   LED BY: HMA2 ARCHITECTS  Location: Room 615 (6th floor)

BREAKOUT 2: MOORE PUBLIC LIBRARY (Moore, OK) LED BY: HBM ARCHITECTS Location: Room 604 (6th floor)

BREAKOUT 3: NORTH RIVERSIDE PUBLIC LIBRARY (North Riverside, IL)   LED BY: STUDIOGC Location: Room 303 (3rd floor)

BREAKOUT 4: RUSSELL LIBRARY (Middletown, CT)  LED BY: TAPPE ARCHITECTS Location: Room 617 (6th floor)

BREAKOUT 5: TAYLOR MEMORIAL LIBRARY (Hackettstown, NJ)  LED BY: VMDO ARCHITECTS Location: Room 304 (3rd floor)

3:25 - 3:40 PM   BREAK

3:40 – 4:15 PM FUTURE DIRECTION IN MEDIA, NEXT/NEW GENERATIONS, LEARNING SPACES

Communities’ need to access seamless and user-friendly technology, across almost every library – urban, suburban, or rural – has skyrocketed in the past years. How are libraries now re-imagining and incorporating technologies into their learning, meeting, and general-use spaces? In what ways are library designs responding to and anticipating re-engaging with emerging audiences and users, such as teens? How are learning centers and makerspaces evolving? In this session, participants will learn more about how architects are exploring these questions, with illustrations from library projects across a variety of settings, as we encourage each other to continue to learn from examples in our profession. 

Panelists:

Darren Schretter|Principal, StudioGC    

 Jim Kovach|Associate Principal, VMDO

Moderator:

Siva Ramakrishnan, Associate Director of Young Adult Services, NYPL

4:15 – 4:25 PM INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT: TECH LOGIC

4:30 – 5:05 PM INVESTING IN REIMAGINED BRANCH LIBRARIES TO CREATE MORE EQUITABLE CITIES

As city leaders search for ways to help residents and communities recover fully from the pandemic, while laying the groundwork for a more equitable future, libraries are uniquely well suited to the task. But major challenges with outdated buildings and aging infrastructure hamper the ability of branch libraries to meet surging demand for their programs and services. What key roles are branch libraries playing in cities today -- and how do changing needs affect the capital investments required to retrofit existing libraries and build the branch libraries of the future? In this panel, Eli Dvorkin, Editorial & Policy Director for the Center for an Urban Future (CUF), discusses CUF's research on the importance of branch libraries, their role as vital social infrastructure in a time of immense challenges, and the ways in which state and local leaders can spur innovation and impact by investing in libraries' programs, services, and physical spaces. Along with Eli, staff from New York City's library systems share their own experiences working in new and reimagined branch libraries.

Panelists:

Taina Evans|Regional Director, Brooklyn Public Library                                      

John Katimaris| VP Capital Projects Management, Queens Public Library                     

Tiffany McCrae| Mott Haven Library Manager, New York Public Library

Moderator:

Eli Dvorkin, Editorial & Policy Director for the Center for an Urban Future

5:05 - 6:00 PM  DESIGN CONSULTATIONS WITH ARCHITECTS AND COCKTAIL RECEPTION (HOSTED BY NYPL AND Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO)