The Burton Barr Central Library is the central

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the o ...

. It is the flagship location and administrative headquarters for the

Phoenix Public Library The Phoenix Public Library is a municipal library system serving Phoenix, Arizona, and operated by the Phoenix, Arizona, city of Phoenix. There are 16 branches currently in operation citywide, anchored by the flagship Burton Barr Central Library o ...

. It was named in honor of

Burton Barr Burton Barr (1917–1997) was an American Army colonel, businessman and politician. He served as a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 1964 to 1986, and as its Republican Majority Leader from 1966 to 1986. Biography E ...

, the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

Majority Leader in the

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Senate. The House convenes in the legislative chambers at the Arizona State ...

from 1966 to 1986. The library houses a collection of 1 million volumes.

History

The building was funded by a 1988 bond issue and replaced a nearby 1950s-era facility on McDowell Road that is now part of the

Phoenix Art Museum The Phoenix Art Museum is the largest museum for visual art in the southwest United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the museum is . It displays international exhibitions alongside its comprehensive collection of more than 18,000 works of ...

Design

The design for the Burton Barr Central Library was a collaboration between

DWL Architects DWL Architects + Planners Inc., is an architecture and Urban planning, planning firm headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. The firm was founded in 1949 by Frederick Penn Weaver and Richard E. Drover as the firm Weaver & Drover. It later became ...

and

Will Bruder Will Bruder (born 1946) is an American architect. Biography Self-trained as an architect, Will Bruder received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, taking supplemental courses in structural engine ...

. The five-story building opened in May 1995 and is 280,000 square feet (26,000 m²). Vertical circulation through the building is facilitated by a central open core containing three high-speed elevators and a five-level grand staircase known as the "crystal canyon." The building incorporates a roof structure inspired by

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing m ...

tensegrity Tensegrity, tensional integrity or floating compression is a structural principle based on a system of isolated components under compression inside a network of continuous tension, and arranged in such a way that the compressed members (usual ...

structures and features shade sails on the north facade and motorized louvers on the south facade for improved sun control. An open, reading room comprises the fifth floor. A summer solstice celebration is held there annually, where the lighting effects are best observed. At solar noon, some of the roof skylights project circles of sunlight directly down the north-south midline axis of the library, with some reaching the ground floor lobby. Sunlight simultaneously washes the upper eastern and western walls of the fifth level.

Incidents

On July 15, 2017, the library sustained water damage from a broken sprinkler system, caused by a storm passing through the city. About 6000 books were damaged. The library reopened on June 16, 2018.

Library Facilities

Great Reading Room

The great reading room on the fifth floor is 1 acre in area, one of the largest in the US. It houses many study areas and the nonfiction collection.

hive @ central

hive @ central is located on the second floor of the library and is a discovery space for business entrepreneurs. It is open to the public and offers free services.

Arizona Room

The Arizona Room is located on the second floor and houses a research collection focused on Southwestern heritage, lifestyle, and geography from prehistoric times to the present.

College Depot at Phoenix Public Library

College Depot at Phoenix Public Library is a free, full-service college planning center. It provides a team of advisors and offers workshops and one-on-one appointments regarding admissions, financial aid, and scholarships.

Teen Central

Teen Central is a 5,000 square-foot area located on the fourth floor. It is reserved for teens between the ages of 12 and 18. The area offers workshops, computers and study areas, as well as a "living room" with a drop-down screen where movies are shown. In addition to the collection of books, CDs, and DVDs, there is also an art gallery.

Children's Place

Children's Place is a 10,000 square-foot space located on the first floor. It contains a story room, auditorium, and outdoor children's garden. An addition and renovation by Will Bruder Architects, which will nearly double the area of the space, is currently in the works.

MACH1

MACH1 is a maker-space located on the fourth floor. It offers free programs to the public such as video game design, coding, video editing, science, astrobiology, and robotics.

Rare Book Room

Located on the fourth floor, the Rare Book Room offers a collection of 3,400 items and free tours.

Central Gallery

Central Gallery is a fine art exhibition gallery located on the first floor. It features work by Arizona artists who are not currently represented by a gallery.

Recognition

Burton Barr Central Library has won several local, national, and international awards, including: * 2021

Twenty-five Year Award The Twenty-five Year Award is an architecture prize awarded each year by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to "a building that has set a precedent for the last 25 to 35 years and continues to set standards of excellence for its architect ...

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to ...

* 1995 Honor Award,

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ancient town in Greece * ''Aia'', the collected edi ...

Arizona * 1997 Award of Excellence,

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

* 1995 Honor Award,

Western Mountain Region * 1995 Excellence in Concrete Award,

American Concrete Institute The American Concrete Institute (ACI, formerly National Association of Cement Users or NACU) is a non-profit technical society and standards developing organization. ACI was founded in January 1905 during a convention in Indianapolis. The Institu ...

Arizona Chapter * 1995 Best New Building,

Phoenix New Times ''Phoenix New Times'' is a free digital and print media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. ''New Times'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue ...

The library was chosen as one of the

Phoenix Points of Pride The Phoenix Points of Pride are 33 landmarks and attractions in Phoenix, Arizona, selected by voters since 1992 to represent the city's best features for residents and visitors. They include structures, such as St. Mary's Basilica, the Phoenix Z ...

in 2008. In 2010, the library received a

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, constructio ...

Existing Buildings Silver 2.0 designation.U.S. Green Building Council, Burton Barr Central Library, http://www.usgbc.org/projects/burton-barr-central-library. It was awarded in the "existing buildings" category, rather than new construction, as LEED was not created until 1998, three years after the facility was opened.

References

External links

Branch info
{{Authority control Public libraries in Arizona Buildings and structures in Phoenix, Arizona Landmarks in Arizona Tourist attractions in Phoenix, Arizona Library buildings completed in 1995 1995 establishments in Arizona