Colgate University’s newly completed Case Library and the Carol Grotnes Belk Library at Appalachian State University were among the projects selected for inclusion in the Architectural Showcase in the April issue of American Libraries, the monthly publication of the American Library Association.

The Case Library, which bridges Colgate’s upper and lower campuses, comprises a 101,000 sf renovation and 51,000 sf addition. The dynamic space includes a café, 24-hour study areas, and videoconferencing and multimedia production facilities.

The prominent tower of the 210,000 sf Belk Library is a campus landmark for Appalachian State’s Boone, NC, campus. The building’s design capitalizes on the University’s unique location with daylit reading spaces offering mountain vistas.

The renovated Robert W. Woodruff Library at Atlanta University Center was among the projects celebrated in American Libraries magazine’s 2010 Architecture Showcase, published online this month.

A 24-hour area (shown at right), with group learning spaces and an e-café, is separated from the rest of the Library by a series of automated glazed panels that secure the collections when the Library is closed without the use of a security grill. The inviting and dynamic main floor, with its media creation and presentation space and robust digital resources, is visible through the panels, which are ...[more]

The innovative design of the law library at Marquette Law School is the subject of “A library without borders,” a feature in the May 2011 issue of the AALL Spectrum, the monthly publication of the American Association of Law Libraries. The design of the library, which is integrated across the four floors of the law school, reflects Marquette’s commitment to a welcoming environment for scholarship.

Eckstein Hall, which houses the law library, opened in September 2010. Authors Julia Jaet and Patricia Cervenka are the law libary’s reference/administrative services librarian ...[more]

Campbell University’s School of Law’s move into new facilities in downtown Raleigh was celebrated in this month’s issue of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Spectrum.

In “From the Creek to the Capital” Olivia Weeks discusses the aspirations and challenges behind the creation of a space that is “warm, welcoming, functional, and quietly elegant.” Since opening in September 2009, students’ use of the law library has far exceeded expectations.

Since its move to downtown Raleigh, the law school has received the 2010 Downtown Raleigh Alliance Imprint Award and a 2010 Champion Award.

In March, Campbell and North Carolina State announced plans to offer a dual degree in public administration and law beginning ...[more]

The Frank P Doyle Library at Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California, was one of 27 public and academic libraries nationwide to be included in the April 2007 issue of American Libraries magazine.

The American Library Association publication’s annual Design Showcase highlighted the host of environmental features which are incorporated seamlessly in the Doyle Library’s traditional design. These include the library’s use of a 58-kw photovoltaic array and a system of thermal energy storage units.

The 141,000 s.f. library was the work of design partners TLCD Architecture of California, which oversaw the project’s sustainable design elements, and Shepley Bulfinch, which brought its expertise in library planning and programming to the project. ...[more]

Four of Shepley Bulfinch’s academic library clients topped the rankings for “Best College Library” in the 2010 Princeton Review survey of students at 373 top US colleges and universities. The four current or recent clients are Harvard (#1); Duke (#2); Princeton (#3), and Colgate (#4). In addition, Furman University, where the firm completed the 2004 LEED Gold Duke Library addition and renovation, was ranked #12.

Rankings were determined by responses from over 122,000 students to the survey question “How do you rate your school’s library facilities?”.

Colgate also came in ...[more]