A library that opened less than a year ago near Eastmark Parkway and Ray Road in Mesa has just been named the best new public library in the world, beating out entries from nine countries for the 2026 IFLA/James Bennett Public Library of the Year Award. The Mesa Gateway Public Library was recognized for its distinctive design, welcoming environment and role as a community hub, standing out among libraries submitted from across the globe.
The award was formally presented on August 10 at the 90th World Library and Information Congress in Busan, South Korea, where Mesa Gateway Library topped 18 other international entries and took home a $5,000 cash prize, according to IFLA. As reported by Arizona's Family, judges praised the Mesa branch as a refreshing, forward-thinking take on what a great library could be. The Mesa building beat out a shortlist that included West Las Vegas Library in Nevada, Library+ Caloundra in Queensland, Australia, and Xiong'An Library in Hebei Province, China, per IFLA's shortlist announcement.
An Open-Air Design With High-Tech Touches
Mesa Gateway Library opened earlier in 2026 with an open-air, market-inspired design, featuring outdoor reading spaces, a digital art wall, the ThinkSpot makerspace, and dedicated spaces for all ages, according to Arizona's Family's reporting. The IFLA/James Bennett Public Library of the Year Award recognizes excellence in library design, innovation and community impact, and the Mesa facility's blend of architecture and interactive features made it stand out among libraries entered in the contest from countries around the world.
The building's folded wood ceiling required an unusual engineering solution: HVAC equipment was installed underground beneath the floor slab so ductwork wouldn't interrupt the soaring, open interior, according to Building Design + Construction. Designed by Richärd Kennedy Architects and White Baux Studio at a cost of $22.5 million, the 28,000-square-foot facility also includes a dedicated sensory room certified as an Autism Center, offering specialized lighting, acoustic dampening and trauma-informed furnishings for neurodiverse visitors, the trade publication notes.
A 30-Year Wait for a New Branch
When Mesa Gateway Library opened on December 6, 2025, it marked the City of Mesa's first new full-service public library branch in 30 years, since the Red Mountain branch opened in 1995, according to 12News. That three-decade gap came even as southeast Mesa saw major suburban growth, leaving residents in the area to travel more than 10 miles for full library services before the Eastmark-area branch opened.
Construction of the facility was completed by Willmeng Construction and funded through a voter-approved 2018 General Obligation Bond for Arts and Culture, combined with municipal construction sales taxes, per the Mesa Independent. Hoodline previously covered the site's groundbreaking in May 2024, when the funding sources and planned 28,000-square-foot design were first detailed for the community.
Meet Romi, the Library's Robot Greeter
Among the building's more unusual features is Romi, a mobile library robot developed by Bibliotheca that greets visitors in eight languages, provides autonomous wayfinding through the book stacks, and takes photos for patrons, 12News reported. The robot is being trialed at the facility alongside automated sorting systems and external pickup lockers built into the building's exterior.
The site itself, at 5036 S. Eastmark Parkway adjacent to Eastmark Great Park, features 24/7 automated hold lockers integrated into the facade and an outdoor reading patio overlooking a park lake, according to the Mesa Public Library. Patrons can retrieve holds around the clock, even outside normal operating hours.
Acclaim Before the Doors Even Opened
The global win wasn't the project's first recognition. Back in 2024, before construction was finished, the project earned a Library Interior Design Award from the American Library Association and International Interior Design Association in the On the Boards category for unbuilt designs, according to Willmeng Construction. This year's IFLA/James Bennett award was also notable for another reason: it was the first edition sponsored by Australia-based library supplier James Bennett, which stepped in after former longtime sponsor Baker & Taylor collapsed in late 2025, as reported by Publishers Weekly.
For a project that began with a 2018 voter-approved bond and a 2024 groundbreaking, the global award caps a long road from ballot measure to international recognition. The library's win puts southeast Mesa's fast-growing Eastmark area on the map as a model for 21st-century public library design.
