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Arch2O.com - Architecture & Design Magazine
Educational Mandate Of The Library:
?Celebrate the Book?

Important to the Library was the mandate by the Director of the Library that the building ?celebrate the book? everywhere ? that ?as you enter the building, you know it?s a building “Cambridge public library” about books and reading.? Unlike libraries which double as community centers, this building organizes itself around books ? a strong statement about education in a city well-known both for its academic interests and its commitment to educational opportunities for its immigrant residents.
photography: Chuck Choi
The New Public Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts includes a New Building (76,700 sf) standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the renovated 1889 Historic Main Library originally designed by Van Brunt & Howe (27,200 sf) and a newly landscaped City Park.
A democratic and populist library celebrating Cambridge as a highly diverse community (with over 50 languages spoken in its schools) and creating spaces that are welcoming, inviting, and accessible ? not imposing or elitist.

Unlike libraries which double as community centers, this building organizes itself around books ? a strong statement about education in a city well-known both for its academic interests and its commitment to educational opportunities for its immigrant residents.
photography: Robert Benson
This LEED Silver main public library includes the preservation of the histor...