Introducing the 'Experience Library'

Almost four years and $40 million in the making, the new Cerritos (CA) Public Library opened the "Experience Library" to much fanfare on March 16. The three level, 88,500-square-foot space designed by Charles Walton and Associates is truly a library for the 21st century. Visitors are greeted with a 15,000-gallon saltwater aquarium, and there's a full-scale model of a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a NASA space shuttle in the children's area. The shiny titanium building —which changes color in response to atmospheric conditions—houses a 300,000-volume book collection, not to mention 200 computer workstations and 1,200 laptop-ready ports. And when visitors need assistance, there's an electronic help desk in which a librarian comes online to interact with users in real time.