AIA/ALA Library Building Award

The award is open to all types of libraries that permit public access.

The library must be in service before entry and completed no earlier than January 1, 2018.

Any architect licensed in the United States may enter.

New construction, renovations, restorations, conversion to library use, and interior redesign and refurbishing are eligible.

Projects may be located anywhere in the world.

Fee: Single project submissions are $450 each. Submitting the same project to additional award categories costs an extra $100 per category.

2027 Deadline

Submissions are due by 5pm ET on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. All materials must be submitted via the online application portal (i.e., cannot be accepted via email, phone, shared online drive, fax, post, etc.) by the prescribed deadline(s): deadline extension or exception requests will not be granted. Applicants and interested parties are encouraged to seek award assistance well in advance of application deadlines to minimize the risk for ineligibility and/or application noncompliance, rendering the entry removed from review.

Formatting requirements

For information on templates for required uploaded forms (e.g., Image Release Form, Application Release Form, Client Authorization, etc.), please visit the AIA Awards FAQ webpage. Applications that do not conform to the program's formatting requirements for uploaded materials (e.g., required forms, images, and portfolio documents) are subject to automatic disqualification. AIA does not accept release forms with altered terms. 
 

Application components

Extensive information on the materials required to submit an application is housed in the AIA online application portal. Please reference the information in this portal when the program is receiving materials for the 2027 season.

Review process

• AIA Awards juries will be shared on AIA.org once available.
• Award advisory panels are composed of individual experts recommended to and appointed by the AIA President, to adhere to the composition requirements outlined in the AIA Rules of the Board.
• All policy and application-compliant entries are evaluated by a uniform rubric.
• Jurors review submissions independently, then convene collectively to discuss submissions and select recipients.
• Contact from award applicants and/or their supporters (e.g., nominator, letter of reference writer, mentor, mentee, employer, etc.) to the real or potential jurors presiding over the review of an AIA award program is strictly prohibited.
• Evidence of current or future applicants and/or their supporters attempting or actualizing contact with an AIA award juror(s) pertaining to the evaluation of applications to specific award programs within specific award cycles can result in an official filing with the AIA Ethics Committee, suspension of membership in good standing, ineligibility of involved parties from participation in current and/or future AIA award program participation, and/or additional measures.

Review criteria

All projects must demonstrate design achievement, including a sense of place and purpose, of ecology and environmental sustainability, and of history.

The jury evaluates entries based on how successfully projects have met their individual requirements. Entries are judged individually—not in competition with each other.

Recognition for this program typically includes the following elements but may be subject to change. Recipients will receive additional information about this cycle’s recognition benefits with their selection notification.

• Promotional recognition in AIA communication channels.
• Invitation for the recipient or a recipient representative to attend selected Awards event celebrations, commonly held during the annual AIA Conference on Architecture & Design®.
• The recipients will be announced to the members of the American Library Association. Recipients may be invited to present their work to members of the American Library Association at specific events and/or conferences. 

For information on 2025 recipients, visit our awards management portal.  

Recipients of this award from 2024 and 2023 can be found at AIA award recipients. For previous recipients, please contact AIA Archives.