2026 Library Design Showcase
The year’s most impressive new and renovated libraries
American Libraries’ 2026 Library Design Showcase highlights 15 new and renovated library projects across the U.S. and Canada, with more than two-thirds recognized as renovations or adaptive reuse projects. The showcase emphasizes designs that create welcoming, flexible, and community-focused spaces while responding to local history, environmental conditions, and evolving user needs.
Among the featured projects is the Chaffey College Library Learning Commons in Rancho Cucamonga, California. The new facility was designed to serve as a central hub for commuting students and features a three-story atrium anchored by a bleacher-style staircase, floor-to-ceiling windows, covered balconies, and interiors inspired by the surrounding San Gabriel Mountains. The 76,000-square-foot project was delivered as a new construction facility with architecture by LPA and DLR Group, and photography credited to Swinerton
