Urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term “third spaces” to describe the public places that are neither home nor work where people congregate. These spots are crucial to community building. Be they coffee shops or barber shops, they’re places where we get to know our neighbors. We hear the local gossip and learn about ways we can be more engaged, informed, and involved. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when more people started working remotely, the value of these third spaces has increased.

Libraries are one of the clearest examples of third spaces and of how preservation helps create welcoming communities. Many libraries are in historic and preserved spaces, and it’s the programming of libraries that brings people, who might not have otherwise walked through the doors, to those buildings. And unlike coffee or barber shops, libraries are free and open to all.

Today, many of these institutions are facing challenges, as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) drastically reduced staffing at the Institute of Museum and Library Science (IMLS) while also terminating grants and limiting future funding to institutions across the United States. IMLS funds are used for technology, acquisition of books and other resources, and programming that supports how libraries, museums, and other cultural institutions create welcoming community spaces all across the country. While recent judicial decisions have halted these actions it is important to learn more about how you can act and get the latest updates for those impacted by the cuts at IMLS.

To get a sense of these remarkable third spaces, here are 13 libraries worth browsing the stacks.

1. Newbern Library (Newbern, Alabama)

Rural Studio is a program of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture at Auburn University that helps students design sustainable, thoughtful buildings in rural areas. In 2015, one of their projects turned Newbern, Alabama’s early 1900s bank building into a public library. Situated in Newbern’s historic downtown, the façade was preserved while the interior was remodeled to provide a library and community gathering space, plus a patio and what was the community’s first public internet site. The Newbern Library bank vault door was saved during the process.

2. Frisco Public Library (Frisco, Texas)

Public libraries tend to need a lot of open physical space and strong floor joists to support stacks and stacks of books. So, a repurposed rocket factory seemed like just the ticket. In 2023, the Frisco Public Library in Frisco, Texas opened after a $62 million rebuild. The new library is designed for a digital age, with spaces for toddlers, teens and adults. There are spaces for social events as well as the traditionally quiet library rooms.

3.Central Library (Kansas City, Missouri)

Central Library, a Kansas City, Missouri public library, is housed in the First National Bank building that dates to 1906. The architects repurposed the old bank vault into a 28-seat theater, which shows films and TV shows from the library’s extensive collection (more than 25,000 DVDs). The vault can also be rented for private screenings. The library opened in 2004 and has since helped encourage the surrounding Library District to thrive. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

4. William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library (Columbus, Ohio)

The Ohio State University’s William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library is the school’s main library and as such has gone through many incarnations. Built in 1912, it was expanded in 1951 with a stack tower and wings and again in 1977 with an addition in the back. In 2006, some of those additions were removed and the building, generally referred to as Thompson Library, re-opened in 2009 with more natural light and more physical space in which to roam, but fewer stacks of books. The project also included the addition of glass walls and a café and restoration of several art pieces.

5. Central Library (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Indianapolis's Central Library was built in 1917, and its 2007 addition not only doubled its size, but also helped highlight its historic elements and preserved architecture. A four-story glass and steel atrium connections the old and new buildings. Features include painted linen on the ceiling, a historic prop room, and design that allows sightlines of people borrowing books, so that you never forget the building’s mission.

6. Boston Public Library (Boston, Massachussetts)

Perhaps one of the best-known historic public libraries in the United States, the Boston Public Library is an 1895 beloved Beaux Arts landmark. In 1972, Brutalist architect Philip Johnson designed an addition that was of the time, made with affordable concrete. In 2016, William Rawn Associates renovated the Johnson addition, making it blend with the original building in new ways without losing its Brutalist essence and also embracing the new needs of modern libraries.

8. Cerritos Public Library (Los Angeles, California)

Built in 2002, the Cerritos Public Library in greater Los Angeles bills itself as the “first experience library.” The library, which is a Smithsonian Affiliate, is designed like a theme park, with an indoor Main Street, an aquarium and large spaces to foster imagination.

9. Fleet Library (Providence, Rhode, Island)

A 1917 Renaissance Revival banking hall was reimagined as the Fleet Library at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence in 2006. The design preserved the vaulted ceiling of the original building but rethought the space to make more room for more programs, students and banks. For example, the massive stairs are now also places where students sit and read and can flip down a desk when needed.

10. George Peabody Library (Baltimore, Maryland)

Head to Baltimore to check out George Peabody Libraryand its skylight, 61 feet high. The feature illuminates cast-iron balconies, and more than 300,000 volumes of books. If you can’t make it in person, you can take a 360-degree tour online.

11. Hockessin Public Library (Hockessin. Delaware)

A 2008 addition to Delaware’s Hockessin Public Library added a floating glass cube to the 1934 building, significantly increasing the library’s square footage. The addition was designed to cantilever over the floodplain and allow views of the surrounding county park. Exterior glazing reduces the amount of intense sunlight, but still allows a connection to the outdoors.

Carnegie Libraries

After industrialist Andrew Carnegie made his millions, he turned philanthropist and used some of his money to build more than 1,600 libraries in the 19th and 20th centuries. As many as 800 are still used as public libraries, and the Carnegie Corp. of New York has continued to fund such projects, announcing $4 million in grants in 2024. Highlights of Carnegie Libraries you can visit include:

12. Eureka Springs Carnegie Public Library (Eureka Springs, Arkansas)

The 1912 Eureka Springs Carnegie Public Library building, erected in the Ozark mountains in Arkansas, features locally quarried stone on the exterior and sports a sign reading “free public library” above its doors.