University of Pittsburgh Library System

Bridge the gap between vision and reality at Designing Libraries XIII!

Come to the Steel City — the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA — where librarians, architects, planners, designers, IT professionals, and more will forge connections and explore the future of library and learning space design. Sessions will cover digital and emerging technologies, campus partnerships and cross-functional collaboration, user-centered spaces, the library as community hub, and planning and groundwork. Keynote speakers will tackle green design and biophilia and the future of library and learning space design. The future of library design has a strong foundation here — don't miss it!

Plus, kick things off early with our October 18 preconference!

Choose from two tracks.

Post-Occupancy Evaluation: Did Our Library Space Actually Work?

You designed it, built it, and opened the doors, but did it deliver? In this interactive pre-conference session, you'll get a hands-on experience with the tools and methods of Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE): mapping real spaces, auditing your own data, stress-testing surveys, and hearing honest lessons from practitioners. You will leave with practical skills and a concrete plan to assess whether your library space is truly working.

Building and Maintaining Your Project’s Momentum During Leadership Transitions

Participants will share experiences about successfully (or not) advocating for a library project, examine approaches to leadership transition, hear valuable insights from guest speakers, and build strategies for communicating effectively, managing expectations, and sustaining momentum during periods of change. At its core, this session will focus on effective collaboration between the library, campus and community leaders, and the architects and designers responsible for broader planning.

Call for Lightning Talks

Do you have an interesting renovation or design-related project you want to share?
Indicate your interest in providing a lightning talk in the registration form and the conference team will reach out to you to submit a formal abstract.