salt lake city library case study

A six-story double-glazed wall forms a lens that conserves heat during cold winter days, and passively exhausts during the summer.

The library occupies an entire block across from city hall, and is characterized by a crescent-shaped wall that opens the library to embrace the urban environment.

The Urban Room is a hub of activity on multiple levels, serving the diverse needs of its community. Innovative HVAC and raised floor systems are designed for flexibility and adaptability to emerging technologies, as well as changing programming needs, which has allowed the library to grow with the city.

Quieter areas, such as the reading galleries, are on the upper levels and connect back to the stacks via bridges. The children’s library is on the lowest level, occupying the base of the lens and opening to the outdoor amphitheatre.

The library is more than a space for books and research, it is a place of gathering and discovery for the entire community.

Natural light is introduced into all of the spaces where people sit and work. This infusion of natural light from all sides is carefully controlled to protect library materials and provide thermal comfort.

Salt Lake City Public Library

Salt lake city, utah, 2003 / built.

The Salt Lake City Main Public Library occupies a city block across from City Hall. The urban design plan reimagines the role of the library in a downtown setting, drawing the library’s program into the city and the city’s program into the library. The building consists of a five story, triangular-shaped structure housing the stacks and readers’ facilities, an adjacent rectangular administration wing, and a glass-enclosed urban room, all contained by a crescent-shaped wall. The wall descends toward the piazza, providing a sweeping external staircase that connects the piazza to a rooftop garden overlooking the surrounding Wasatch Mountains. The urban room opens into the piazza, which is lined within the wall with shops, restaurants, meeting rooms, and an auditorium. Within the crescent, reading galleries occupy the four levels above the retail areas and connect by bridges to the main library block. On the lowest level, the children’s library spills outdoors into an amphitheater and a children’s garden, around which cluster story rooms designed as part of the art program. A south-facing, five-story double-glazed “lens” opens the entire library toward the mountain view while providing shade or trapping the sun’s heat, as appropriate to each season.

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Associate Architects - VCBOArchitecture

Ten Most Beautiful Libraries in the World, abcnews, 2013 AIA/ALA Library Building Award, American Institute of Architects and the American Library Association, 2005 Honor Award for Outstanding Architecture, American Institute of Architects, 2004 Design Award for Best Public/Institutional Building, Prestressed Concrete Institute, 2003

Salt Lake City Library

US $78 million

225,000 sq ft | 20,903 sq m

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Fewer details, the salt lake city public library.

The outdoor piazza is anchored by an open-air amphitheater, set with the backdrop of the main lens of the library. The library, plazas, and gardens are places to celebrate the city.

The Library is an extroverted building, reaching across the site to pull in and engage the public and downtown.

The outdoor piazza and lawns are the settings for book and art fairs and concerts. Urban life expands outdoors in summer and withdraws into the light-drenched urban room in the winter.

The Urban Room is an interior main street between the library and the crescent wall. It is a vibrant urban living room that celebrates all seasons, and frames magnificent views of the city. It is flooded with natural light and activity.

The exterior is comprised of a six-story curving, walkable wall with an open public plaza at the ground level and a rooftop garden. Activities as diverse as rooftop yoga, bee-keeping and art installations animate the exterior as much as the interior.

The reading garden atop the library’s roof overlooking the Wasatch Mountain is an outdoor room. The garden is a quiet place of contemplation, as well as a place to see a 360 degree view of the city.

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Salt Lake City's library started with 12K books. Here's its circulation 125 years later

By Carter Williams

The first-ever Salt Lake City public library was "surprisingly well patronized" when its doors opened in the morning of Feb. 14, 1898, newspapers reported that day .

Scores of people sifted through an initial catalog of nearly 12,000 books at the Salt Lake City-County Building. The books were donated by the Pioneer Library Association.

It shouldn't have been much of a surprise that the opening day was that popular. City library historians note that grassroots efforts by civic groups and city leaders helped produce this original library. Over 1,000 residents signed a petition calling for the library within days of it being proposed the year before, even reforming tax policy to come.

And the Salt Lake Herald-Republican proclaimed that the library "should be the pride of the town."

One hundred and twenty-five years later, the Salt Lake City Public Library System is still buzzing, even as it has grown to greater heights. The Main Library — completed in 2003 — is now across the street from the original location. There are also seven branch libraries scattered throughout the city limits with another branch desired in the Ballpark neighborhood in the future .

It's amassed quite a collection that's grown beyond the initial number of books. The library system has grown to 668,577 items — books, e-books, DVDs and more — at the start of 2023, according to Quinn McQueen, director of marketing and communications for the Salt Lake City Public Library System.

This number fluctuates because the library adds and subtracts items regularly, as new books or movies arrive and damaged ones are removed. It also had a circulation of 2.6 million in 2022.

The evolution of libraries in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City did have libraries before 1898, but they were operated in different ways. It began with an effort by early pioneers to curate a collection of celebrated English authors and translated Greek and Latin classics in 1851, according to library historians . These ultimately ended up in what became the Utah Territorial Library.

The Ladies Library Association came up with a short-lived system in the 1870s, closing just before the Masonic Public Library opened in 1877. The Masonic Order's 10,000 books ended up in the Pioneer Library Association after the library closed in 1891 due to finances.

In 1896, the newly-formed state of Utah passed a law that paved the way for the establishment of free public libraries, setting up that busy first day on Feb. 14, 1898.

But the Salt Lake City Public Library System didn't stop there. As the collection neared 15,000 books in 1900, the city looked to build a library building of its own. It eventually came in the form of a building located at 15 S. State, which still stands today as the O.C. Tanner Jewelers store in downtown Salt Lake City.

Its first branch location, named after the city's first public librarian Annie Chapman, opened on the city's west side in 1918. Even with additional branches, the growth of the city and the demand for books led to a new main library, which opened at 209 E. 500 South in 1964.

That library wasn't enough either, though it still serves as the Leonardo science and art museum today. The city opened a new main location next door in 2003.

The library offers so much more than books though, as it has become more of a community gathering place.

The Salt Lake library system offers day care services and programs for children, book clubs, community events, cultural celebrations, software for learning new languages and access to Consumer Reports, among other things, McQueen says. Libraries are even major Wi-Fi access points for people who don't have access to the internet.

Residents don't have to enter a building as much as they used to, either. Some services that used to be in-person only, such as storytime reading, have had more of an online presence in recent years, primarily fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down in-person access for about a year.

Even the selections are becoming more digitalized, as e-books and audiobooks have swept over libraries across the globe. These have allowed residents to access books even when they're out of town or unable to make it to a physical location for any reason, McQueen explains.

"It has kind of allowed us to be even more malleable and meet people where they are," she said, adding that the digital divide in communities is still a challenge that the library is working to overcome.

Celebrating 125 and beyond

The Salt Lake City Public Library System plans to celebrate this year with some sort of event this summer, McQueen said. Administrators are still piecing together what that celebration will look like, including if it will be at all of the current branch locations or a major celebration at the Salt Lake Main Library, which also turns 20 this year.

"It's just a fun time to celebrate everything we've done and recommit to our presence in Salt Lake City (as we) look forward to the future," she said.

As the system grows in popularity over time, there are quite a few parallels to the system's origin story 125 years ago. Neighborhoods without a library branch are always pushing for one to serve the needs that libraries provide, such as a safe learning space.

It's why the department put together a strategic plan in 2017 to map out the next steps to match the growing city.

The ongoing growing demand for libraries all these years later just goes to show that even though the Salt Lake City library has evolved over the past 125 years, the need for public libraries, which sparked the system in the first place, hasn't changed much in that time.

"We're still in high demand," McQueen adds. "It really is fascinating to think about how the public library has been around through (multiple major changes) in Salt Lake City, and it's really remained such a cornerstone in the community."

Generative and Resilient: Sustainability Beyond the Walls of the Library

by Dagmara Larsen, AIA, LEED AP, Principal, MSR Design

Nearly 10 years ago, the Urban Libraries Council published the sustainability report, Partners for the Future: Public Libraries and Local Governments Creating Sustainable Communities , which outlines the “triple bottom line” approach to sustainable development, based on environmentally sound, economically feasible and socially equitable practices. The ALA Council adopted the same approach to sustainability as a core value of librarianship during the organization’s 2019 Midwinter Meeting in Seattle. The next challenge is to implement these practices and push the boundaries further.

In the past decade, we have observed the effects of continued climate change. In the most recent report , assessing the global climate in June 2019, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Center for Environmental Information stated that last June was the warmest on record for the planet with record-low Antarctic sea ice levels. Human health is intimately linked to the condition of our immediate environment and the Earth. We therefore need to take a holistic approach to design, focused on the well-being of individuals, community and the planet, for every project. Sustaining the current state is not enough. Given present conditions, regenerative design is necessary to restore ecological balance.

As leading institutions in communities across the United States, libraries are recognized as positive change agents that shape society’s future leaders. Recognizing that trusted position, libraries have the opportunity to positively impact their communities and the environment across the board through the design of their buildings and operations.

Louisville Free Public Library South Central Regional Library. Architects: MSR Design, JRA Architects. Photo by: Brandon Stengel.

A Holistic Approach Begins with Human Well-Being

All well designed public spaces are dedicated, at their core, to human experience and are shaped to support the well-being of individuals. The first step in a human-centric design is the selection of healthy materials that are Red List free, defined by the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge as having no carcinogenic toxins. Architectural firms that are leading the future of sustainable design, conduct research to understand which products truly qualify to be included in this still limited group.

Welcoming customers from all walks of life, libraries need to provide an efficient, comfortable environment for everyone through a mix of spaces. When the Louisville Free Public Library started work on their new South Central Regional Library, creating an exceptional user experience came to the forefront of the design. Nestled into the last remaining section of woods that had been cut for a surrounding development, the new building resulted from a rigorous application of biophilic design principles. The interior space offers ample daylight, views and a sense of shelter for people. By locating study spaces along the edge of the public floor, customers can experience the activity within the library and the calming backdrop of nature.

Tūranga (Christchurch, New Zealand). Architects: Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, Architectus. Photo by: Adam Mork.

Creating Resilience and Community Well-Being

In times of distress, we look to our community for support. As in the case of Christchurch, New Zealand, when the entire community was suffering, responsibility shifted to civic and governmental organizations to come to the rescue and help restore not only the physical environment, but also the spirit of the place. The city’s new library Tūranga was designed as part of a concentrated effort to restore the heart of the city, devastated by earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.

The building was engineered to withstand any potential earthquake disaster, protecting the financial and emotional investment for future generations. Its design incorporates a range of sustainable strategies to provide an efficient and well-functioning environment for the community. The key design elements helped restore a sense of identity for a community devastated by natural disaster. Integrated indigenous art, choice of building materials and an entry sequence and building orientation originated from a thoughtful design process all come together to celebrate the culture of the Ngāi Tūāhuriri, the local Māori people of New Zealand’s South Island.

LocHal Library (Tilburg, Holland). Architects: CIVIC architects, Braaksma & Roos Architectenbureau, Inside Outside, Mecanoo. Photo by: Stijn Bollaert.

Conserving and Renewing the Urban Fabric

In a postindustrial district of Tilburg, Holland, a vacant warehouse that housed locomotive production and repair lines at the beginning of the 20th century, has been given a second life as the LocHal. Containing the library and other cultural organizations, the new community space benefits from the grandeur of the existing volume, while offering an intimate experience for visitors within smaller nested quarters. Reuse of the historic structure has not only conserved natural resources and preserved a significant building for the community, but it has also stimulated activity and the economy in this part of Tilburg.

Similar results were achieved in Tulsa, Okla., when Tulsa City-County Library renovated and built an addition onto its dated central library. The original building from the early 1960s provided a perfect opportunity to conserve resources by reusing an ample concrete structure and therefore keeping all of the embedded carbon in place. The expansive roof over the six-story building now supports rainwater collection used for landscape irrigation and new PV panels that harvest solar energy for the library. In addition to these building improvements, the rejuvenated library has reenergized the underutilized downtown by requiring library activities to be visible outside the building to engage the community. A family garden replaces a dilapidated parking lot. Low velocity air leaves the building at the ground level to passively cool this green oasis, creating a pleasant microclimate for all users .

Tulsa City-County Library Central Library (Okla.). Architect: MSR Design. Photo by: John Fancher.

Reaching Beyond the Building: Net Positive Design

Just as in the Tulsa project, when designing a new library, it is critical to champion opportunities that enrich the environment and create outdoor spaces for individuals, the community and library programs. An example of net positive design, the Green Square library in Sydney, Australia, revitalizes one of the city’s oldest industrial areas. A sophisticated air-delivery system, integrated into perimeter shelving to optimize energy, serves beautifully daylit spaces. The library is located almost entirely under a public plaza, with the exception of the entry and a tower that contains specialty programs. This bold move creates a generous and flexible space in the urban area designed to collect stormwater runoff for use in the library. The Green Square project sets a new standard for library buildings, showcasing the net positive gain that design can achieve.

Green Square (Sydney, Australia). Architects: Stewart Hollenstein, Stewart Architecture. Photo by: Tom Roe.

Every library has the potential to become the most inspiring place for its community and citizens. Design excellence and conserving resources (both natural and financial) are essential when planning and operating a facility designed to educate its users by example.

Incorporating sustainable initiatives such as minimizing waste and limiting use of plastics into the daily operations is a necessary part of plotting a strategic path forward for every library. As places founded on the idea that anything is possible, libraries should strive to achieve measurable positive impacts on communities and the planet to give us hope.

Dagmara Larsen, AIA, LEED AP, offers an international perspective to the design of libraries as a native of Poland who has worked in Europe, South America and the United States. Principal with MSR Design, she has participated in Library Journal Design Institute programs across the country and as a panelist for last year’s event in Minneapolis. Dagmara also presented a talk at the Polish Librarians Association Forum in Lublin, Poland, and her design work has received numerous honors and awards, including an AIA/ALA Library Building Award.

ULC Thanks MSR Design for Sponsoring the 2019 ULC Forum

This October 16-18, the 2019 ULC Forum: Preparing to Lead on AI + Digital Citizenship will convene our member community in Salt Lake City to engage in expert-led discussions and activities to elevate our shared understanding of the economic and social implications of emerging technologies.

Hosted by Salt Lake City Library and Salt Lake County Library , this important event will bring together leaders from major urban library systems across the U.S. and Canada. Together, we will map out how libraries can take ownership of their role at the forefront of the AI revolution, fostering and empowering digital-savvy citizens with services and tools that will strengthen democracy.

ULC is grateful to MSR Design for its support as a sponsor for the 2019 ULC Forum. Click here to learn more about this can't-miss event.

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• Location: Salt Lake City Utah Regional Essays: Utah Salt Lake County Architect: Moshe Safdie and Associates Valentiner Crane Brunjes Onyon Architects Types: public libraries (buildings) Styles: computer-aided design (process) Materials: steel (alloy) glass (material) concrete

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The main branch of Salt Lake City's Public Library, designed by the internationally acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie together with VCBO Architecture, is a meditation on the library in a hyper-connected world. Since its opening, the project has received numerous architecture awards and accolades. In 2006 the entire Salt Lake City Public Library system was named Library of the Year by Library Journal . The article described the City Library as "the place where democracy happens."

In 1998, 68 percent of Salt Lake voters approved an $84 million library bond to cover the cost of a new 200,000-square-foot main library with parking for 600 vehicles and an outdoor plaza, along with the demolition of all of the existing buildings on the library block and replacement of the heating and cooling plant. For the design, the Library Board of Directors held a competition guided by the vision and detailed program supplied by former library director Nancy Tessman. Safdie and VCBO Architects were selected from a group of finalists that included Gwathmey Siegel of New York and Prescott Muir Architects from Salt Lake. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on October 21, 2000, and the new library opened to the public on February 8, 2003. Library officials estimate that one million people pass through its doors every year. As a contemporary institution, the library is more than a repository of collective knowledge. Holding a collection of 500,000 books and other materials, the 240,000-square-foot building is designed as a node in a local and global network of continuous information flow.

The $73 million structure shares the architectural vocabulary, spatial elements, scalar parities, and material combinations of Safdie’s more recent commissions. A monumental entry defines the character of the edifice. It is composed as a tall walkway with a four-story roof covered with glass, like a nineteenth-century galleria or a Parisian arcade. Here, the arcade has shops on one side and the library on the other; it has a walkway below and lounging areas above, protruding stairways in one place and transparent elevators in another. The arcade is marked by the movement of bodies in all directions, not unlike a city street. At the same time, watching people pass through the arcade, it is possible to think of the building’s users as a type of media. Here, at street level, the media is dynamic and changeable. As one moves up through the building, from floor to floor, it becomes more static and the building itself gets quieter. This effect is by design, with the more active and noisier areas of the library on the lower levels and the reference and study-oriented areas on the upper levels.

The city commissioned this project as part of urban revitalization efforts. It is sited across from the City and Council Building, a Richardsonian Romanesque structure that houses the mayor’s office, and the slick, Le Corbusier-inspired Leonardo Museum. Along with the new light-rail tracks, these buildings work together to create a vibrant urban square. For the library, the architects designed a six-story curving, walkable wall embracing the grand public plaza. A multi-level reading area along the glass wall at the southern facade of the building looks out onto the interior plaza. Sweeping glass walls bring in stunning views of the city and Wasatch Mountains beyond. On the lowest level, the children’s library spills outdoors into an amphitheater and garden in the piazza. At night a crescent-shaped pool, extending into the outdoor space, reflects the glowing glass facade. The entire ensemble echoes the striking landscape in its confident use of form, maximizing light and views at every turn. A roof-top garden, accessible by walking the crescent wall or the elevators, offers a 360-degree view of the Salt Lake Valley and the intersection of giant toroidal forms with vertical cylinders and prisms.

In its geometries, the building combines the regular volumes celebrated by Euclid and Pythagoras (cube, pyramid, sphere) with jutting fragments of arcs, lines, and points. Sectional volumes extrude along axes and curves and then dramatically slice off at the ends on the street corner. A triangular-shaped main building, housing the book stacks and general facilities, stands delicately next to a rectangular administration wing and a glass-enclosed “urban room.” The crescent-shaped urban room flowing into the piazza fills with daylight. The space rises to the full height of the building and provides a pivotal point of visual orientation. This large reading area embraces the other elements and gestures out to the city beyond. The decidedly non-classical forms, the product of computer-aided design, emerge in unexpected ways from the complex interplay of large-radial arcs. The floor trays are punctured in a number of places to visually connect them to one another, to the sky, and to the street. Shiny metal frames and reflections in glass diminish the distinction between real and virtual space. It is not clear what is inside and what is outside, what is material and what is reflection.

Throughout the library, Safdie’s every move is informed by a Modernist point of view. Unlike the spaces of medieval monasteries or universities, which promote solitude and introspection, the spaces of the Salt Lake Public Library rise from a belief that the mind of the citizen thrives in the public, performative, and associative spaces of a polis . Safdie’s public library is like the space of appearance that Hannah Arendt defined. The library is a space for the reactivation of citizenship in the modern world; it helps to recover a common, shared world while also allowing individuals to disclose their identities and establish relations of reciprocity and solidarity.

Berry III, John N. “Where Democracy Happens.” Library Journal 131, no. 11 (June 15, 2006): 32-35.

Moshe Safdie and Associates. Salt Lake City Main Public Library: Moshe Safdie and Associates, Valentiner Crane Architects . Somerville, MA: Moshe Safdie and Associates, 1999.

Mitchell, William J. “Building in a Networked World.” In Moshe Safdie II , edited by Diana Murphy. Mulgrave, Victoria: Mulgrave Images Publishing Group, 2009.

“Salt Lake City Main Public Library.” In Moshe Safdie II , edited by Diana Murphy. Mulgrave, Victoria: Mulgrave Images Publishing Group, 2009.

Safdie, Moshe. For Everyone a Garden . Cambridge: MIT Press, 1974.

Shulman, Ken. “Urban Renewal: Salt Lake City's New Public Library.” Metropolis 23, no. 10 (June 2004): 164-169.

Taggart, Brian. “Library as Urban Placemaker: A Metal Box Full of Ideas for Salt Lake City’s New Library.” Competitions (July 2000): 40-53.

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• Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Regional Overviews: Salt Lake County Architect: Valentiner Crane Brunjes Onyon Architects Types: public libraries (buildings) Styles: computer-aided design (process) Materials: steel (alloy) glass (material) concrete

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The Urban Library pp 59–65 Cite as

Salt Lake City Public Library, the City Library: “To Advance Knowledge, Foster Creativity, Encourage Exchange of Ideas, Build Community, and Enhance Quality of Life”

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This chapter will describe the Salt Lake City Library main branch. “The City Library” is represented as “a dynamic civic resource that promotes free and open access to information, materials and services to all members of the community to advance knowledge, foster creativity, encourage the exchange of ideas, build community and enhance the quality of life” (The City Library website, https://about.slcpl.org/mission ). The library was designed by Moshe Safdie with VCBO Architecture as the local firm and opened to the public in 2003. Its modern architecture has received great reception from the public and is a source of pride to the urban identity of Salt Lake City. This chapter will focus on a description of the Salt Lake City Public Library design and mission that contributes to a better understanding of the library’s role within Salt Lake City and its community-oriented programming.

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Discover these lesser-known resources at a Salt Lake City or County library near you

Beyond books, libraries offer seeds, software, equipment and other items..

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Naomi Popoca, 7, seated, is joined by her sister Nicole, 3, and mother Chelise as they spend time in the kids section at the Kearns Library on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. From access to a sound studio, 3D printers, bike repair tools and more, libraries are sources for a variety of life-enriching resources, not just books.

Libraries offer much, much more than books. Nowadays, they are are hubs of life-enriching resources, and the Salt Lake City Public Library and the Salt Lake County Library are no exception.

If you’re new to Salt Lake City, here is a breakdown of the two major library systems in the area.

— The Salt Lake City Public Library system (aka The City Library) is headquartered in the Main Library downtown and also has seven smaller branches throughout city neighborhoods. All residents of Salt Lake City or Salt Lake County can get a free library card to The City Library. For more information, visit SLCPL.org .

— The Salt Lake County Library system (aka The County Library) covers a much larger area than The City Library, with 18 branches spread throughout the Salt Lake Valley. All county residents can get a free library card to The County Library. For more information, visit SLCOlibrary.org .

Trish Hull, manager of The County Library’s Kearns branch, said libraries are “the heart of democracy,” because they provide everyone with equal access to information and education.

“We are an equalizer,” she said. To access anything on the following list, all you need is a free library card.

Grow your garden

Established in 2019 — in partnership with Wasatch Community Gardens — The City Library’s free seed library allows anyone to request seeds, then take them home and plant them. Initially only based in the Main Library, the seed library has been expanded to the Day-Riverside, Marmalade, Glendale and Sprague branches.

Just peruse the seed catalog — which features an ever-changing variety of veggies, herbs and flowers — then place your order online or in person.

Once your garden runneth over, save the plants’ seeds and share them, either by giving them to a friend or neighbor, or donating them back to the library.

The seed library encourages people to not waste seeds, which have the potential “to be a plant that can give nourishment to other people in the community,” Liesl Jacobson, assistant director of community engagement for The City Library, said.

Where: Browse the seed catalog at services.slcpl.org/theplot and pick up orders at the Main Library in downtown Salt Lake City. Or visit a participating branch in person.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Seed Library, at the Marmalade Branch of the SLC public library system, on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021.

Grab some brain food

Both the city and county library systems have partnered with the Utah Food Bank to provide free food to children and teens under the age of 18 through the Kids’ Cafe program.

The City Library gives out snacks at its Marmalade and Glendale branches, as well as the Main Library. For hours and other info, visit services.slcpl.org/kids-cafe .

The County Library provides free sack lunches to kids at the following branches: Hunter, Kearns, Magna, Smith, Tyler and West Valley. For hours and other info, visit https://www.slcolibrary.org/information/FAQs .

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kid’s Cafe offers free meals for kids up to 18-years-old at the Kearns Library on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. Here are some non-book resources available at Utah libraries you may not know about, including at the new Kearns Library. From access to a sound studio, 3D printers, bike repair tools and more, libraries are sources for a variety of life-enriching resources, not just books.

Level up your skills

When a car’s brake pads are squeaking or a kitchen faucet is leaking, skip the repair bill and learn how to fix it yourself with digital how-to guides.

You can also learn how to write a resume, take arts and crafts classes, or become a Microsoft Excel wizard. Selection varies by library system and branch.

Where: At SLCPL.org , click “Explore,” then “Digital Library,” then browse by topic. At SLCOlibrary.org , click on the “Learn” tab. Then under “Popular Topics,” click “How to.”

Read the newspaper

All library patrons across the state have unlimited access to The Salt Lake Tribune at sltrib.com , including subscriber-only stories.

Through The City Library’s website , you can also read The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, as well 600 international, national and regional newspapers through ProQuest Newsstand (in The Digital Library).

Borrow from the Library of Things

Discover new technology and even new worlds with The County Library’s growing Library of Things . The collection of equipment is free to check out by adult patrons and includes internet hot spots, Chromebooks, tablets and telescopes to take stargazing.

“Preserve the Memory” equipment also available will get you started on digitizing those shoeboxes of old photos, film, slides and cassette tapes for future generations.

Where: Selection varies by branch and is subject to availability. Go to SLCOlibrary.org for more information. The City Library also has digital conversion equipment .

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) One of the telescopes that can be checked out, at the Marmalade Branch of the SLC public library system, on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021.

Listen to local tunes

Find something truly unique to hum along to by browsing the HUM database at hum.slcpl.org . Curated by a group of music makers, writers and producers, HUM is a treasure trove of local music that ranges in style from rock to country.

Use your library card to stream and download for free.

Get creative

The cost of high-quality equipment needed for 3D printing, embroidery, engraving, robotics, design or sound production doesn’t have to curb your creativity.

The County Library’s selection of gear and software will allow any artist to explore and grow. For a complete list of everything that’s available, visit slcolibrary.org/information/create .

The City Library also offers a large selection of equipment for photography, sewing (bring your own thread and fabric), graphic design, button-making, laminating, video production and more.

Where: The County Library’s Holladay, Kearns and Magna branches, or The City Library’s Main Library, plus the Marmalade, Glendale and Sprague branches.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Marmalade Branch of the Salt Lake City Public Library system has sewing machines available for use, as shown on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021.

Play the game

Discover your next favorite board game at the Marmalade Game Exchange, the latest addition to the Marmalade branch of The City Library.

Just bring a lightly used board game (make sure all the pieces are inside) to the library and trade it in for a new-to-you game that you can take home — and keep.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Game Exchange, at the Marmalade Branch of the SLC public library system, on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021.

Remember the good times

Memory Care Kits, designed for people suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia, are now available through The City Library.

The kits come in five different themes: music, travel, pets, outdoors or transportation. Each kit contains DVDs, fidget toys, books, CDs and other items that can “spark conversations, offer respite for caregivers, and provide activities that can stimulate memories,” the library said.

To browse different kits, visit SLCPL.org .

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Marmalade Branch

280 West 500 North Salt Lake City, UT 84103 801-594-8680

Mon–Thu · 10am–9pm Fri–Sat · 10am–6pm Sun closed

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Mon–Thu · 11am–7pm Fri–Sat · 11am–6pm

Mon–Thu · 10am–8pm Fri–Sat · 10am–6pm Sun closed

The Salt Lake City Public Library's Marmalade Branch is the anchor of a mixed-use project developed as a key part of the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) of Salt Lake City's master plan for the Marmalade/West Capitol Hill area of the city. The neighborhood serves as a gateway to Salt Lake City from the north, and the Marmalade Branch is both a hub for neighborhood gatherings and an important welcome for visitors, highlighting a focus on development in the area. On-street parking is available on 500 North and 300 West, and UTA routes offer service with stops immediately in front of the Library on 300 West.

The two-story Marmalade Branch, designed by Blalock & Partners Architectural Design Studio and completed in early 2016, provides 18,600 square feet of new construction to support a thriving and growing community. The first floor includes a Creative Lab with the latest maker technologies like 3D printing and music-making software as well as "old school" tech such as sewing machines and a turntable; a flexible Children's area; and the very popular Music and Movies collection. The second floor includes the Adult collection, study rooms for a range of group sizes, and a large, flexible multi-purpose room with tiered seating to allow for a wide variety of events. The multi-purpose room has already been very popular with the community, hosting community feedback sessions, film screenings, TEDx events, music recitals, and the highly-popular Coffee and Chocolate Society. The second floor also features a wrap-around terrace offering views of the Capitol Building to the east, Salt Lake City's picturesque skyline and landscape to the south and, to the north, views to a public plaza and open green space as part of a new mixed-use development.

The project utilizes an exterior shading device along the west-facing glass to minimize solar heat gain yet still promote a dynamic interaction with the street and passersby. Its compact footprint reduces land use and allows for a high-performance building envelope. The use of LED lights, lighting control systems, occupancy sensors, and daylight harvesting reduce the amount of electrical energy consumption while the flood of natural light creates an inviting interior environment for patrons and an efficient, balanced workplace for staff. In honor of these sustainability features, the Marmalade Branch was awarded the LEED Silver certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC).

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© Copyright 2024 Salt Lake City Public Library. All rights reserved.

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• Art Exhibits
• Find out about art exhibits at City Library branches.
• Request a Room: Main
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• My Reservations
• Reserve a public meeting room at one of the City Library branches.
• Request a Room: Virtual
• Request a Zoom meeting room.
• Find books, music, movies and more in The City Library's collection that would be of interest to adults.
• Find items and events for Salt Lake City teens.
• Browse items or events of interest to our youngest patrons.
• Donations / Payments
• Community support enriches tax-based funding and allows us to expand cultural programs and services.
• Friends of the Library
• The Library's sister organization, responsible for spearheading fundraising efforts, volunteering, and advocacy.
• Answers to common questions about the Library.
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