Since it launched a decade ago, the L!brary Initiative, the program to build or refurbish libraries in New York City public schools, has made books accessible to thousands of kids. Now the initiative has a book of its own. The L!brary Book: Design Collaborations in the Public Schools (Princeton Architectural Press) documents the unique partnership between the New York City Department of Education, the Robin Hood Foundation, and architects, designers, artists and illustrators that has produced 56 libraries (to date) in schools across the five boroughs. Written by Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi, a former director of the initiative, and designed by Pentagram, who created the graphics for the program, the book features case studies on the design of a dozen of the libraries, a look at the art created for the library walls—murals compared by The New York Times to those of the Works Progress Administration—and a highly readable account of the remarkable process that made it all happen, with interviews with architects, designers, librarians and students.
‘The L!brary Book’
Book Design
Design for a book documenting the Robin Hood Foundations' library initiative.
