Hennepin County Library: New Central Library

The stunning Minneapolis Central Library is conveniently located in downtown Minneapolis between Hennepin Avenue, the city's arts and theater district, and Nicollet Mall, the backbone of the city's business and shopping districts.

Designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli, the 353,000-square-foot building features an eye-catching canopy roof that projects over the Hennepin and Nicollet entrances, a combination of transparent and translucent glass with seasonal Minnesota imagery such as water, snow, trees and prairie grass, an 18,560-square-foot "green" roof planted with low-growing, sun- and drought-resistant ground cover and 140,000 square feet of underground parking.

Designed to reflect residents' civic pride and deep commitment to education and literacy, Minneapolis Central Library offers nearly 100 percent access to its collection, the center of the third largest per capita public library collection of any major city in America with a collection of more than 3 million items--including books, DVDs, music, government documents and more.

Minneapolis Central Library provides more computers with Internet access for free public use than anywhere in the state -- more than 300 -- as well as free wireless. The Best Buy Technology Center offers a variety of free technology classes and workshops on resume writing and conducting an online job search, among others.

In addition, Minneapolis Central LIbrary is home to the first depository collection of government documents in the state and is the state's only Patent Depository Library, offering several classes each month on patents and trademarks.

The Children's Library holds the Upper Midwest's largest public library collection of children's books, including materials in more than 30 languages. This space was designed to provide children room for exploration and fun, and to help parents, families, teachers and caregivers develop children's love of learning and reading.

Emma B. Howe Teen Central is one of the first spaces of its kind in the United States to be designed by and for teens. The library's loft-like space overlooking Hennepin Avenue is created to welcome teens, engage their recreational and personal needs, provide after-school help from tutors and support their educational goals.

One in every five households in Minneapolis speaks a language other than English and more than 6,000 new immigrants join the community every year. The New Americans Center offers tours in Spanish, Somali and Hmong, Conversation Circles for practicing English and bilingual information on using the library.

Twenty-five meeting and study areas, including Pohlad Hall--a state-of-the-art auditorium--allow for dynamic programming and a variety of group gatherings in segmented spaces that encourage community members to connect with each other.

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