How do you design a library that caters to the needs and desires of its youngest visitors? By offering a ton of opportunities for expression and learning, and topping it all off with an appealing mix of both familiar and unexpected design elements. In Gütersloh, Germany, the newly opened Liz-Mohn-Children’s Library of the City Library has achieved this extraordinary blend. The redesign of the Children’s Library continues a long-standing tradition and is the kick-off of a larger re-positionings proccess. The City Library is located in the historical heart of the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Gütersloh. Opening its doors in 1984 as a gift from Gütersloh entrepreneur and founder of Bertelsmann Stiftung, Reinhard Mohn, the Gütersloh City Library once represented a milestone in the library world. Mohn – the late founder of the Bertelsmann Stiftung – was determined the library should not be just another “magnificent building”, but above all functional and user-friendly. This concept was revolutionary at the time. The Gütersloh City Library has since been cited as one of the first examples of modern library architecture in Europe.

Forward-looking and up-to-date in terms of media, the focus of the Gütersloh City Library is on its social function: a café in its center invites Gütersloh residents not only to borrow books and much more, but also to linger and engage in conversation, similar to a marketplace. The interior of the library is now getting on in years and requires fundamental modernization. This extensive renewal will catapult the great Gütersloh City Library into its next life cycle of many. A generous donation was made by Bertelsmann SE to mark the birthday of Liz Mohn, Bertelsmann owner and … [Read more via the downloadable below]