The Metropolitan Library System, Oklahoma City, opened its newly renovated Southern Oaks Library on September 25. The 1975 branch grew by 3,471 square feet, to 20,164 square feet, during the 16-month, $2.4 million project. The refurbished library was designed by Architectural Design Group, with Anderson & House Inc. as general contractor. The construction includes a new front vestibule and entry, larger restrooms, a rear driveway, 31 additional parking spaces, and bonus reading areas. The library houses 42 public computers, with free Wi-Fi access; four self-check machines; a drive-up book return; and several spaces for quiet study. Support for the renovation came from general obligation bonds approved in 2000.
The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) has named the new J. Paul Leonard Library and Sutro Library, San Francisco State University, the Project of the Year from DBIA’s Western-Pacific chapter, which covers California, Nevada, Arizona, and Hawaii. The scope of the award is to honor projects “that exemplify the principles of interdisciplinary teamwork, innovation, and problem solving.” The 79,000 square foot addition and renovation project, completed in March 2012 after a four-year build, cost $47.8 million and was designed by HMC Architects. It also features the seismic retrofit of three individual buildings and the replacement of plumbing and mechanical systems. The DBIA gave special acknowledgement to the library’s “complexity and design excellence.”
Another link in the chain of District of Columbia Public Library branches to see renovation was added in September with the completion of the $11.2 million expansion and renovation of the Mt. Pleasant Public Library. The building itself is a 1925 Italian Renaissance–style brick and limestone edifice designed by Edward L. Tilton. A glass atrium connects the separate structures and offers a single common entrance, per TheInTower. The build, which began in April 2010, includes a larger children’s section, a new configuration, facsimiles of the library’s original furnishings, and room for 80,000 items; the collection now stands at 50,000. The new facility was designed by Core Architects, with construction management from Smoot Construction.
 |
Data-Driven Libraries: Navigating Options & Measuring Outcomes: Librarians today are facing the inescapable reality that data is slowly beginning to govern much of what they do. Whether it is figuring out the best way to curate data sets or learning how to parse the ever growing number of metrics that every library is generating, librarians have to determine the most constructive way to deal with this ocean of information that a growing number of software companies and applications are making available. Watch this webcast series to learn innovative data-driven solutions that will navigate you through the data to create viable plans for your library's future |
About Bette-Lee Fox
Comment Policy:
We are not able to monitor every comment that comes through (though some comments with links to multiple URLs are held for spam-check moderation by the system). If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.
We accept clean XHTML in comments, but don't overdo it and please limit the number of links submitted in your comment. For more info, see the full Terms of Use.