A W A R D S

Five Star Rating - Library Journal America's Star Libraries
Best Library for Children - "Best of L.A." issue Los Angeles Magazine
Special Mention Library of the Year - Library Journal
Best Public Library - Readers’ Digest magazine
Thea Award - Themed Entertainment Association
Expy Award - Thinkabout
Best Public Library - L.A. Parent Magazine
Best Public Library - “Best of L.A." issue Los Angeles Magazine
Award of Excellence - American Library Association/
American Institute of Architects
Award of Honor - Southern California Institute of Architects

The Cerritos Library is the first titanium-clad building constructed in the United States. Completely re-imagined and redesigned, it features themed spaces, high quality art work, and inspirational architecture. Innovation and creativity have been central to the new Library’s success. It is widely known throughout the library community for its futuristic design and world-class customer service.

The Library is the result of a complete reevaluation of library services in the wake of the emergence of the Internet as a powerful resource. The book, The Experience Economy (Joseph Pine and James Gilmore, Harvard Business School Press, 1999), served as an inspiration to make the library more interactive and user friendly.

During the design process, the City staff looked outside the library world in order to find new ways to provide cutting-edge services, including interactive learning. The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, designed by Frank Gehry, served as an additional inspiration for the layout and modern design of the exterior of the building. Images and exhibits on display as well as sounds emanating from the Rainforest and aquarium areas add to the multi-sensory experience of the visitor.

Modern technology supports all aspects of the Cerritos Library. Public areas are filled with computers and Ethernet ports for anyone to use. In fact, the Library has the most computers per capita for any library its size in the United States. Library staff wears wireless headsets for easy communication when assisting library users. A computerized circulation system that uses radio frequency identification (RFID) simplifies the circulation process including easy and convenient self-checkout. Smart cards complete with photo ID double as debit cards for print services.