Lincoln City Libraries Central Library has won a national Library Interior Design Award in the On the Boards category, given biennially by the American Library Association (ALA) and the International Interior Design Association (IIDA).
Designed, collaboratively, by MSR Design and BVH Architecture, the project will transform Lincoln’s 1979 Education Square building—an urban mall currently used as post-secondary education space—into the city’s new central library. The design reimagines an opaque downtown streetscape as a transparent extension of Lincoln’s Main Street, creating a 21st-century library focused on lifelong learning, creativity, and community connection.
Located at 1111 O Street, the new central library is planned to serve Lincoln and Nebraska as a whole with flexible community spaces, interactive youth areas, makerspace and digital labs, special collections, outdoor gathering areas, and a rooftop auditorium. Reusing the existing building is expected to cost approximately 35% less than constructing a new building while supporting a more sustainable approach to civic design.
Lincoln City Libraries Central Library and the design team will be honored at the 2026 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.
The project is scheduled for completion in 2028.
