Lawrence Public Library
New Direction Task Force
December 2004
What is a library? More importantly for us is the question: What is a library and why should it be in downtown Lawrence? The New Direction Task Force set out to answer that question and in doing so knew we must look beyond the status quo. We needed to look in new directions – to explore boundaries beyond a book depository. We want to create a new, experienced-based information destination for the community as a whole. We want to reach out and find ways to make Lawrence a better place to live because of the collections, the programs, the facilities, the technology, the staff, and the fun and excitement that our new library provides to the community. The work of the New Direction Task Force is just beginning to explore the journey of creating this vision. Come with us and help us turn the vision into a reality.
More effective and responsive library services can be provided for the citizens of Lawrence by the development of an expanded or relocated library facility in downtown Lawrence. A larger library will provide much needed space to meet the needs of our growing community. It will accommodate larger collections and more programming, increased resources for youth, and enhanced space to provide service for children and families. It will allow for expanded access to technology that is of increasing importance in library service.
The current library facility is 32 years old, and was built when the local population was less than 45,000. It no longer meets the needs of Lawrence’s 85,000 residents. The current library facility is deficient in a number of areas identified in the Kansas Public Library Standards: space for services and programs, areas for children and young adults, technology infrastructure, space for total collections, the number and variety of meeting room spaces, parking, and building mechanical systems. Many opportunities for service and collection expansion must be deferred until the facility can be enlarged.
These concerns can be resolved, however, through an expanded, redesigned library that will serve as a center for learning and information – a place where Lawrence citizens can interact and access a world of information. The New Direction Task Force, the group formed by the Library Board to explore ideas for expanded facilities and services, envisions a magnificent and distinctive structure that would enhance, yet mesh with the historic nature of downtown Lawrence.
The Task Force envisions an imaginative new library facility, with interactive experiences for children, an expanded teen area, a computer lab, quiet study rooms and communal areas for those doing research or reading, a green building that not only preserves but embraces the natural world of sky and trees, a flexible design that can be adapted to incorporate new technologies, and a serene, comfortable environment for our senior population. Expanded opportunities for parking would encourage use from residents throughout our geographically expanding community.
In addition to providing for the expansion of collections, programs and services, a new downtown library would impact the entire city by enhancing the vitality of downtown Lawrence. A new library in downtown Lawrence could serve as a building block upon which additional, innovative downtown development could occur. The enhanced library would attract more residents from throughout the city, contributing to the vitality of downtown Lawrence.
Five potential sites for an expanded library in downtown Lawrence were reviewed by the New Direction Task Force, a group of architects representing various local firms, and community leaders during a two-day Design Summit in April 2004. The results of this site review process are contained within the full report.
The Lawrence Public Library Board of Trustees supports and endorses this report. We ask the Lawrence City Commission to schedule a study session with the Library Board in January 2005 so that we may present a proposed scope of services for master developer consultant services. This consultant study would be funded by library reserve funds held by the City of Lawrence, and would build upon the work of the New Direction Task Force. The study would evaluate options, sites, and costs for expanding or relocating the current library facility, and operating a larger facility with enhanced access to expanded collections, technology and services. The study would also provide for an economic and community impact analysis to determine the extent to which an expanded downtown library project could serve as an investment to stimulate public/private development and redevelopment of the library’s environs.