For my reflection post on Hyperlinked Environments, I chose to focus on international libraries that were recently awarded the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Public Library of the Year. This award requires not only a new building, expansion, or renovation, but also a thoughtful combination of functional and technological innovation. The Deichman Public Library in Oslo, Norway (2021 winner) and the Beijing Library in Beijing, China (2024 winner) serve as more than book repositories or venues for library programming. These buildings connect people to information, technology, services, community, and location—playing an important, holistic civic role for residents and visitors in Oslo and Beijing. The library provides a flexible yet socially cohesive public space, a hyperlinked environment that empowers users.
Photo: Erik Thallaug / Deichman Bjorvika
Photo: Maria Bagtas / Deichman Bjorvika
The Deichman Library is Oslo’s main library and a true civic hub. Six light-filled floors offer typical library features like books, reading and study areas, meeting rooms, and a children’s zone (an entire floor), as well as atypical amenities like a cinema, restaurant, café, and auditorium. In addition, the workshop and media resources include 3D printers, sewing machines, music studios, and other creative tools. Together, the building encourages movement, browsing, and gathering—an architectural counterpart to the resources offered within that provide access to many information pathways.
Beijing Library
Beijing Library (interior)
The Beijing Library is similarly expansive and inviting. The grand architecture reflects the surrounding river and landscape in the terraced exterior, while the interior houses the world’s largest climatized reading space, along with modular areas for conferences, exhibitions, performances, and even the restoration of ancient books. It also features the latest green building technologies like climate control, lighting, acoustics, and rainwater collection. As a result, the scale of the Beijing Library is impressive and appropriate for the large urban center that it serves.
A citizen uses a book delivering robot at a library in Xiong’an New Area, north China’s Hebei Province, March 25, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhu Xudong)
Among the finalists for the 2026 IFLA Public Library of the Year award is another Chinese public library, the Xiong’An Library in Hebei Province, China. Like the other shortlisted libraries, Xiong’An shares the best qualities of a hyperlinked environment: open layouts, adaptable rooms, strong digital services and technology offerings, and a clear connection to local needs. What’s unique is Xiong’An’s robots, part of the fabric of this high-tech “city of the future” and present in the library spaces. Book-sorting carts and humanoid service robots interact with and assist library patrons. These photos from Xiong’An strike me as novel now, but will this become a common sight in libraries throughout the world?
A child interacts with a robot at a library in Xiong’an New Area, north China’s Hebei Province, March 25, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhu Xudong)
Not all libraries have robots, but all hyperlinked environments incorporate technology. Digital catalogs, public computers, Wi-Fi, and self-service checkout are widely available. Many libraries offer makerspaces, media tools, and spaces. Interactive kiosks and robots may be the cutting-edge technology now, but all technology supports a library’s role as a connector. These IFLA award-winning libraries are the best examples of a hyperlinked environment where users can get what they need from the library to support their individual and collective lives and well-being. These thriving information hubs and community spaces expand my ideas about what is possible at the public library.
References
Croissant, M. (2021, September 21). This library was just named the best in the world. Matador Network. https://matadornetwork.com/read/best-library-world/
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. (2026, June 19). Shortlisted applicants for IFLA/James Bennett Public Library of the Year Award 2026. IFLA. https://www.ifla.org/news/shortlist-ploty-2026/
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. (2024, October 7). IFLA/Baker & Taylor Public Library of the Year Award 2024 announced. IFLA. https://www.ifla.org/news/winner-announced-for-the-ifla-baker-taylor-public-library-of-the-year-award-2024/
Xinhua News Agency. (2026, March 31). EconomyInFocus: Xiong’an New Area dedicated to innovation-driven development. Xinhua English News. https://english.news.cn/20260331/294401df1eda4d75955da66699dd7eac/c.html
Hi Nancy – Thank you for highlighting these award winning international libraries and sharing these awesome pictures! You are right–exploring other libraries helps expand your perception about what a public library is and what it could be. It is great to learn from others! Your post really makes me want to travel. I need to start visiting new libraries when I am traveling. Thanks again for sharing!
Hi Rachel, thanks for reading! I want to visit more international libraries too, but sometimes I like to visit a neighboring city’s library. It feels like a staycation lol.
Hi Nancy, my favorite library from the photos you posted are of the Beijing library. From beautiful views looking out into the city to the various reflections on the exterior, the visuals to this library are the total opposite of the dusty, dark, and boring library stereotypes from “the olden days.” Very cool to read about its features as well. What I love most about these libraries are they fact that not only do they provide services to their communities, the buildings themselves also benefit the environment and serve as examples of how intention can bring about all sorts of benefits to communities.
Hi Patricia, thanks for reading. I also love the look of the Beijing Library and that the building has many environmentally conscious features! The other libraries shortlisted for the prize this year also have green buildings as two are in the desert climates of Arizona and Nevada and the Sunshine Coast of Australia.
https://www.ifla.org/news/shortlist-ploty-2026/
Nancy, this post spoke volumes about what public libraries can accomplish across the globe. The international libraries that we have seen through this class are doing amazing things and even the university library in North Carolina that one of our videos highlighted was cutting edge. I wonder if there was a lot of community support and buy-in for these libraries to reimagine themselves into what they are today. I know that in my town the public library wanted to do an expansion and tried to pass a bond issue, and the community chose a lake project over expanding the library which serves surrounding towns as well as our local community. I guess my thought would be is how they marketed to the community the vast benefits of engaging and being a part of this new environment that benefits the patrons and the community at large. The planning and innovation involved is simply amazing! It makes going to the library a completely new experience!
Hi Becca, thanks for sharing that example from your town. A lake project sounds wonderful too, and I’m sad that there wasn’t funding enough for both! You’re right that marketing really matters. The more libraries can demonstrate and publicize our value to non-users, I think the wider the buy-in. I plan to visit more international libraries when I travel to broaden my experience of what libraries are doing in their communities.
@nancylee2026 I so enjoyed this exploration and all of the photos of these amazing libraries. This is another strong entry that you can use for competency in your portfolio. There’s so much inspiration here as well from these libraries and I love seeing the library robot doing good work. 🤖📚
Thanks, Michael! I will definitely use this for my e-port.
I haven’t met a library robot yet but I encountered a museum robot while at the National Museum of Korea this spring. It was like a fancy version of an interactive directory with a touchscreen face but nothing super impressive in my opinion.