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Libraries are timeless treasures.
2016-07-29
Even as pulpy paperbacks get swapped out for electronic ink, we still crave a physical space where we can surround ourselves with knowledge. When done right, those spaces can be works of art.
To find the most beautiful libraries in each state, Tech Insider looked at past and current award-winners as judged by the American Institute of Architects and the American Library Association awards, and relied on our own judgment for states who have never won.
Make sure to give these a look on your next road trip.
Alabama: The Birmingham Public Library consists of 19 branches and is one of the largest library systems in the southeastern US.
Wikimedia Commons
Alaska: The Homer Public Library won the 2007 Honor Award, AIA Alaska Chapter, for its modern design and use of local materials.
Homer Library
Arizona: The Arabian Library in Scottsdale won the 2009 AIA/ALA Library Building Award for its soft, sloping lines and beautiful wood construction.
Arabian Library
Arkansas: The Hillary Rodham Clinton Children's Library and Learning Center in Little Rock earned a 2015 AIA/ALA Library Building Award for its glass facade and low carbon footprint.
Timothy Hursley
California: The Los Angeles Central Library is the third-largest library in the US, featuring a mix of Mediterranean and Egyptian influences.
Wikimedia Commons
Colorado: Made of sandstone, the Crested Butte historical library was built in 1883 and was originally used as a two-room schoolhouse.
Wikimedia Commons
Connecticut: Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, located in New Haven, features a sunken sculpture garden and translucent marble windows.
Delaware: The Wilmington Public Library was founded in the late 18th century. The building has been renovated several times since, though the facade retains its regal aesthetic.
EDiS Company
Florida: The Gulf Gate Library in Sarasota opened less than a year ago but has already been recognized by the AIA Florida chapter for its flexible meeting spaces and warm, inviting design.
AIA
Georgia: The Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Gallery at the University of Georgia lives inside a handsome brick building in Athens.
University of Georgia
Hawaii: Hawaii's State Library, located in Honolulu, was originally funded by Andrew Carnegie and is still expectedly tropical.
Wikimedia Commons
Idaho: The University of Idaho, located in the town of Moscow, is the largest library in the entire state with nearly 10,000 periodical subscriptions and 1 million books.
University of Idaho
Illinois: The Chicago Public Library's Chinatown branch won the 2016 AIA/ALA Library Building Award for its sleek design and emphasis on community involvement.
Jon Miller
Indiana: The newly renovated Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, features a new entrance while keeping its iconic facade.
University of Notre Dame
Iowa: The Cedar Rapids Public Library was a recipient of the 2015 AIA/ALA Library Building Award for its futuristic exterior design.
Main Street Studio
Kansas: The Lawrence Public Library in the town of Lawrence uses a combination of glass, wood, and concrete that won it a 2016 AIA/ALA Library Building Award.
Tim Griffith
Kentucky: The Louisville Free Public Library won an Honor Award as part of the AIA's 2016 Kentucky Design Awards for its overlapping wooden facade.
AIA
Louisiana: The Rosa Keller Library in New Orleans was named one of the best new pieces of architecture in 2012 by New Orleans Magazine.
Timothy Hursley
Maine: The Portland Public Library was once a cold and uninviting building, but a new facade installed in 2012 earned it a AIA Maine Honor Award and an AIA New England Design Award.
Wikimedia Commons
Maryland: The multi-floored George Peabody Library at Johns Hopkins University was built in the mid-18th century and is still open to the public.
Massachusetts: Overhauled in 2014, the Sawyer Library at Williams College, in Williamstown, was recently named one of AIA and ALA's best new libraries.
Peter Aaron
Michigan: At the University of Michigan Law School, the William W. Cook Legal Library won the AIA Michigan 2011 Design Excellence Awards for its recent restoration and renovation.
AIA
Minnesota: The Minneapolis Central Library won the 2009 AIA/ALA Library Building Award. It contains no interior load-bearing walls, making for a stunning layout.
Wikimedia Commons
Mississippi: The James H. White Library at Mississippi Valley State University, in Itta Bena, won a 2014 AIA Mississippi Merit Award for its renovation into an open, inviting structure.
Duvall Decker
Missouri: The Kansas City Public Library features a towering row of famous books on its facade, including "Catch-22" and Plato's "Republic."
Wikimedia Commons
Montana: The Billings Public Library won the 2016 AIA/ALA Library Buildings Award for its glass design and sprawling 66,000 square feet of reading space.
Bill Timmerman
Nebraska: The State Library, located in downtown Lincoln, is the oldest library in the state. It was approved in 1855, when Nebraska was still a territory.
Nebraska State Legislature
Nevada: The Prim Library at Sierra Nevada College, in the town of Incline Village, delivers a rustic feel in the heart of the forest.
United Construction
New Hampshire: The main library at Philips Exeter Academy has been recognized by the AIA time and again for its lofty, circular-designed mezzanines.
New Jersey: At Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, the library was modeled after a 4th-century Roman church and is spread across three levels.
Brian Tholl
New Mexico: In the town of Artesia, the Artesia Public Library blends a traditional low-slung design with sleeker glass elements.
Artesia
New York: The New York Public Library's main branch, built between 1897-1911, is a soaring and magnificent piece of the city's history.
jiawangkun/Shutterstock.com
North Carolina: In 2013, the James B. Hunt library, which is located in Raleigh, received the AIA/ALA Library Building Award for its wide-open reading spaces and silvery exterior.
Wikipedia Commons
North Dakota: The North Dakota State Library, in Bismarck, is a handsome, column-adorned building that has been in operation since 1907.
Shutterstock
Ohio: Located in Columbus, the palatial William Oxley Thompson Library won the 2011 AIA/ALA Library Building Award.
Wikimedia Commons
Oklahoma: In Oklahoma City the Northwest Library was designed to let in plenty of daylight while staying durable, since it features rooms for storm safety.
Metropolitan Library System
Oregon: For his work on the Beaverton City Library — a vaulted and rustic structure — architect Thomas Hacker won the 2013 Region Firm Award from the AIA Northwest & Pacific Region.
Wikimedia Commons
Pennsylvania: The Free Library of Philadelphia opened in 1894 and has retained its sense of elegance and enormity for more than century.
Shutterstock
Rhode Island: Rhode Island School of Design's Fleet Library relies on a unique mixture of old and new to create a welcoming place to study or read.
South Carolina: In St. Helena Island, the St. Helena Branch Library creates a cozy environment with lattice-enclosed reading spaces inside, and relaxing open spaces outside.
Loillio
South Dakota: The University of South Dakota library features light-filled floor to ceiling windows that look out onto the Vermillion campus.
University of South Dakota
Tennessee: The Bellevue Library in Nashville won the 2015 AIA Tennessee Merit Award for its flexible design that caters to large groups or intimate gatherings.
Bellevue Library
Texas: Formerly a Walmart, the McAllen Public Library gives kids ample room to roam around and find secret hiding spots to read. It won a 2013 AIA Institute Honor Award for Interior Architecture.
Lara Swimmer
Utah: Built in 2003, Salt Lake City's Main Library could pass as a sunlit shopping mall, were it not for the many shelves of books.
Wikimedia Commons
Vermont: Northfield's Brown Public Library stays faithful to the New England vibe with its red-brick facade and white columns.
Shutterstock
Virginia: The Slover Public Library in Norfolk earned a 2015 AIA/ALA Library Building Award.
Slover Library
Washington: The Renton Public Library in the city of Renton boasts an industrial and natural feel, which earned it a 2016 AIA/ALA Library Building Award.
AIA
West Virginia: High on a lush hill, the West Virginia University Library peers over the Morgantown campus.
Google Maps
Wisconsin: Located in Madison, the Wisconsin Historical Society library features an enormous reading room with cross-hatched glass ceilings.
Wikimedia Commons
Wyoming: The Sublette County library, with its evocative country aesthetic, was awarded the 2009 Western Mountain Region Distinguished Building Award.
Sublette County
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Chris was a senior editor on Business Insider's Future of Work team.He oversaw multiple desks on the team, including Careers and Entrepreneurship.Previously, he served as lead science editor at the NeuroLeadership Institute, an HR-focused cognitive-science consultancy. Before that he was a senior innovation reporter at Business Insider covering a wide range of topics, including basic income, education, public policy, human behavior, and the future.
