It’s not just the construction and design that make this a library of the future — the building itself is impressive — but the attitude and new vision led by director Louise Berry. The Dewey Decimal system we grew up with is replaced by books organized by subject. There is no librarian stuck behind a desk to check out your books and media because there are four self-check-out stations allowing librarians to be among the stacks helping and talking to you.

“The idea is the libraries of the future are not warehouses of books,” Berry said.

The building, designed by Peter Gisolfi of Peter Gisolfi Assoc. of Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., uses a geothermal heating and cooling system. There are also sensors that can tell if a room is being used and control its temperature. The Darien Library is the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold library in New England.