
This blog post feels like a continuation of my previous blog post about reimaging the library space. In that post, I discussed how different libraries are changing the inside environment of the library to meet the evolving needs of a 21st-century community. This blog post is going to focus on the physical building of the library and how it is being reimagined around the world. We will also touch on how this is impacting how the community uses the library and how patrons interact with each other.

The Nature Library is our first stop on this library building tour (Anythink Libraries, n.d.). This library is located on a natural preserve and exists through a partnership between the library system and the city. It is dedicated to “learning about stars, water, wildlife, and seasonal changes” (Anythink Libraries, n.d.). This library creates access to nature as well as learning about learning about “health and wellness, environmental stewardship, heritage, history and culture, animals, flora and fauna” (Anythink Libraries, n.d.). This opens the traditional library programming to new possibilities, including yoga classes, astronomy, community gardening, and more.

Our next stop is a library that partnered with a local community organization to offer a community garden and related programming (TEDx Talks, 2013). The library also had a herd of 300 goats mow their lawn. This changed the information requests they received from patrons because they wanted to learn about the goats outside of the library. Some patrons brought grass and weeds from their home to feed to the goats!

I think about the impact of this on one’s mental health, and how interacting with and being in nature helps to reduce stress and anxiety (Harvard Health Publishing, 2019). This makes access to nature a social issue with lower-income individuals living in areas without green spaces, parks, gardens, and more (Cho & Adjami, 2025). The library system I work for currently partners with the city and a few nature preserves to present a storytime, and then the naturalist takes the families on a hike. What would it look like to build a library on one of the natural preserves or have a Redbox-style vending machine where patrons could check out materials? These materials could be nature-themed or simply offer popular items.

For this next library, we are heading out of nature and onto a train! The Sacramento Public Library (SPL) partnered with the Sacramento Public Transit to include a library train (Sacramento Public Transit, 2022). This traincar includes seating that looks like shelves with books. There are QR codes on the wall throughout the traincar that passengers can scan. These QR codes will take the passenger to the SPL‘s virtual library offerings of books, movies, games, and more.

Last on our list of stops is the Mesa Express Library, which is located in the heart of a city park (Bibliotheca, 2024). This library looks like it is a normal library, but this library is not staffed with library employees. Visitors use their library card and PIN to gain access to the library, along with its collection, computers, and printers. The library offers free WIFI, along with a playground for young patrons to play on. You can even borrow a jump rope to skip outside the library in its amphitheater. The library is monitored remotely, and there are tablets available that walk patrons through how the library works, and there is an option to call a staff member virtually if needed.
This makes me wonder how alternative libraries could look in my community. I could see self-service library hours added to some of our branches because patrons want access to their holds and the free wifi sheltered from the outdoors. What if we could add QR codes to some of our public buses for patrons to access our virtual library? We could reach new patrons who haven’t stepped into the library before. These QR codes could also link to short videos of librarians reading books aloud for children to watch and listen to on the bus. Another idea I had was partnering with a local coffee shop. We already do storytimes at a few coffee shops, but what if we expanded that to include library materials? The opportunities seem endless!
References
Anythink Libraries. (n.d.). Anythink announces nature library in partnership with city of thornton. https://www.anythinklibraries.org/news-item/anythink-nature-library?fbclid=IwAR2DgO-k8nU6kNUODo7vTlRXKiEiYSoSeQMC8Aq0QnoLMZoT3d-QKpbSl5M
Bibliotheca. (2024, May 22). In mesa, a library with no staff, and no shortage of visitors. https://www.bibliotheca.com/library-story-mesa-express/
Cho, H., & Adjami, N. (2025, June 24). Where the grass is greener: Disparities in access to parks and trees. Equal Rights Center. https://equalrightscenter.org/green-spaces-heat-islands/
Harvard Health Publishing. (2019, July 1). A 20–minute nature break relieves stress. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/a-20-minute-nature-break-relieves-stress
Sacramento Public Transit. (2022, August 31). Ride and read on the new sacramento rolling library train. https://www.sacrt.com/ride-and-read-on-the-new-sacramento-rolling-library-train-2/
TEDx Talks. (2013, December 16). What to expect from libraries in the 21st-century: Pam sandlian smith at tedxmilehigh [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa6ERdxyYdo