A rendering shows the western end of the Main Library, which would be razed and built anew. (Images courtesy of Richmond Public Library)
A new edition of the city’s Main Library is being drafted downtown.
The Richmond Public Library is planning a $70 million renovation and addition of its complex at 101 E. Franklin St.
Preliminary plans for the project, as presented at a community meeting at the library earlier this week, call for the demolition of 15 percent of the 140,000-square-foot library at its western end near the intersection of East Franklin and North First streets.
A cross-section rendering of the new building shows the library’s planned 70-space parking deck.
That would be replaced with a new section including a roughly 70-space subsurface parking deck, new multi-purpose spaces and more efficient shelving and storage areas for the library’s collection of books, as well as ADA-compliant accessibility features.
RPL director Scott Firestine said that the library is still in the planning and feedback-gathering stage of the process.
Scott Firestine
“This is absolutely just the beginning,” Firestine said of the project.
The majority of the Main Library was built in 1972, and during construction the new building wrapped around and “consumed,” as Firestine put it, the site’s original library building that was constructed in 1928. The 1928 building is what would be demolished.
The expansion project’s true roots date back to 2009 when the library began a facilities master plan, but Firestine said the planning began in earnest about a year ago. The timing works out, as Firestine pointed out, that they’ve been updating the Main Library about every 50 years.
In the decades since 1972, Firestine said the ways folks use libraries have changed and the goal of the renovation project is to get the Main Library to a point where it can best serve the public in the modern age.
“Those (1972 and 1928) buildings were designed around the book. You wanted collections that were as large and as deep as you could get them. Bigger was better,” Firestine said.
“It’s changed from possessing large collections of books to having access to them. You may need more information than the basic stuff we have, but we can get it quickly either through electronic means or inter-library loans. It’s more about having skilled navigator librarians who can help you go beyond that quick Google search.”
He used the example of a user searching for a medical text. In such a field, information can go out of date quickly, and while RPL may not be able to keep the latest medical books, VCU’s library might, and RPL could source that book from the university.
“Libraries have changed and our collections have to be very much tailored to the specific needs of our community,” he said. “Instead of having a huge, deep collection, we have a nimble, robust, accessible collection. We have to continue to evolve with the way the information is conveyed.”
The 140,000-square-foot library’s 1972 building wouldn’t be affected. (Mike Platania photo)
Firestine said RPL operates a hub-and-spoke model, with the Main Library supporting RPL’s eight other branches around the city. The Main Library’s collection totals about 500,000 volumes – down from 800,000 in the late 2000s – and Firestine said through new compact shelving hardware and strategies RPL wouldn’t have to downsize its collection any further following the renovation.
“The collections on the floor will be our most popular books,” Firestine said. “Books that are moving the most to meet the needs of the most number of people.”
Since the Main Library is currently two buildings essentially retrofitted together, Firestine said its excess stairs and lack of ADA-compliant design present an accessibility issue for users, something he says community feedback indicates is exacerbated by parking issues.
“It’s astonishing, when we started doing surveys and we got community feedback, the biggest thing was parking. People loved the library, they loved to come down here, but the first and last concern is parking,” Firestine said.
The new parking deck at the library would help quell that issue, and Firestine said it’s in accordance with the city’s Richmond 300 master plan, which prioritizes reduction of surface parking lots in neighborhoods such as Monroe Ward. It would be built where the library’s basement is currently.
“This wouldn’t expand surface parking. We would be converting space that we once needed for books into space that could be used for parking,” he said. “That’s a key element of this conceptual plan.”
The roof of the new building would be accessible to the public, and the roof of the 1972 building would be outfitted with solar panels, something Firestine said would help RPL hit its goal of being the first net-zero energy use library in Virginia.
“If you think about a library and what we do, we are the epitome of an organization that encourages conservation and re-use,” he said. “I mean, we loan books.”
A cafe and new common areas are part of the conceptual designs. (Courtesy of Richmond Public Library)
Funding for the $70 million project would come from a variety of sources including private benefactors, foundations and companies, but Firestine said the bulk of it would come from the city’s capital improvements budget.
RPL has tapped New York-based architecture firm Steinberg Hart and local firm Kei Architects to design the project, and Lu+S Engineers and Lynch Mykins are listed as engineers.
Firestine said the next step in the process is for the library to finalize the renovation concept in the next 60 days, after which it would submit it to the city in the fall for review under the Capital Improvement Plan. A further timeline for the project is unclear.
Firestine recalled a 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Public Library, which had a similar design and structure as Richmond’s Main Library. The fire, thought to be set by an arsonist, burned for seven hours, destroyed 500,000 books and closed the library for around three years.
He said the story is recounted in a 2018 book by Susan Orlean, “The Library Book.”
“It talks about how it gutted the L.A. Library. It talks about how we’re institutions for learning, how we help people in life-long learning especially if they’re trying to learn something new, or changing careers,” Firestine said.
Asked if “The Library Book” is available through Richmond Public Libraries, Firestine laughed.
“Of course it is,” he said.
A rendering shows the western end of the Main Library, which would be razed and built anew. (Images courtesy of Richmond Public Library)
A new edition of the city’s Main Library is being drafted downtown.
The Richmond Public Library is planning a $70 million renovation and addition of its complex at 101 E. Franklin St.
Preliminary plans for the project, as presented at a community meeting at the library earlier this week, call for the demolition of 15 percent of the 140,000-square-foot library at its western end near the intersection of East Franklin and North First streets.
A cross-section rendering of the new building shows the library’s planned 70-space parking deck.
That would be replaced with a new section including a roughly 70-space subsurface parking deck, new multi-purpose spaces and more efficient shelving and storage areas for the library’s collection of books, as well as ADA-compliant accessibility features.
RPL director Scott Firestine said that the library is still in the planning and feedback-gathering stage of the process.
Scott Firestine
“This is absolutely just the beginning,” Firestine said of the project.
The majority of the Main Library was built in 1972, and during construction the new building wrapped around and “consumed,” as Firestine put it, the site’s original library building that was constructed in 1928. The 1928 building is what would be demolished.
The expansion project’s true roots date back to 2009 when the library began a facilities master plan, but Firestine said the planning began in earnest about a year ago. The timing works out, as Firestine pointed out, that they’ve been updating the Main Library about every 50 years.
In the decades since 1972, Firestine said the ways folks use libraries have changed and the goal of the renovation project is to get the Main Library to a point where it can best serve the public in the modern age.
“Those (1972 and 1928) buildings were designed around the book. You wanted collections that were as large and as deep as you could get them. Bigger was better,” Firestine said.
“It’s changed from possessing large collections of books to having access to them. You may need more information than the basic stuff we have, but we can get it quickly either through electronic means or inter-library loans. It’s more about having skilled navigator librarians who can help you go beyond that quick Google search.”
He used the example of a user searching for a medical text. In such a field, information can go out of date quickly, and while RPL may not be able to keep the latest medical books, VCU’s library might, and RPL could source that book from the university.
“Libraries have changed and our collections have to be very much tailored to the specific needs of our community,” he said. “Instead of having a huge, deep collection, we have a nimble, robust, accessible collection. We have to continue to evolve with the way the information is conveyed.”
The 140,000-square-foot library’s 1972 building wouldn’t be affected. (Mike Platania photo)
Firestine said RPL operates a hub-and-spoke model, with the Main Library supporting RPL’s eight other branches around the city. The Main Library’s collection totals about 500,000 volumes – down from 800,000 in the late 2000s – and Firestine said through new compact shelving hardware and strategies RPL wouldn’t have to downsize its collection any further following the renovation.
“The collections on the floor will be our most popular books,” Firestine said. “Books that are moving the most to meet the needs of the most number of people.”
Since the Main Library is currently two buildings essentially retrofitted together, Firestine said its excess stairs and lack of ADA-compliant design present an accessibility issue for users, something he says community feedback indicates is exacerbated by parking issues.
“It’s astonishing, when we started doing surveys and we got community feedback, the biggest thing was parking. People loved the library, they loved to come down here, but the first and last concern is parking,” Firestine said.
The new parking deck at the library would help quell that issue, and Firestine said it’s in accordance with the city’s Richmond 300 master plan, which prioritizes reduction of surface parking lots in neighborhoods such as Monroe Ward. It would be built where the library’s basement is currently.
“This wouldn’t expand surface parking. We would be converting space that we once needed for books into space that could be used for parking,” he said. “That’s a key element of this conceptual plan.”
The roof of the new building would be accessible to the public, and the roof of the 1972 building would be outfitted with solar panels, something Firestine said would help RPL hit its goal of being the first net-zero energy use library in Virginia.
“If you think about a library and what we do, we are the epitome of an organization that encourages conservation and re-use,” he said. “I mean, we loan books.”
A cafe and new common areas are part of the conceptual designs. (Courtesy of Richmond Public Library)
Funding for the $70 million project would come from a variety of sources including private benefactors, foundations and companies, but Firestine said the bulk of it would come from the city’s capital improvements budget.
RPL has tapped New York-based architecture firm Steinberg Hart and local firm Kei Architects to design the project, and Lu+S Engineers and Lynch Mykins are listed as engineers.
Firestine said the next step in the process is for the library to finalize the renovation concept in the next 60 days, after which it would submit it to the city in the fall for review under the Capital Improvement Plan. A further timeline for the project is unclear.
Firestine recalled a 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Public Library, which had a similar design and structure as Richmond’s Main Library. The fire, thought to be set by an arsonist, burned for seven hours, destroyed 500,000 books and closed the library for around three years.
He said the story is recounted in a 2018 book by Susan Orlean, “The Library Book.”
“It talks about how it gutted the L.A. Library. It talks about how we’re institutions for learning, how we help people in life-long learning especially if they’re trying to learn something new, or changing careers,” Firestine said.
Asked if “The Library Book” is available through Richmond Public Libraries, Firestine laughed.
“Of course it is,” he said.
As much as I love books, I stopped buying the bound versions years ago and switched to digital formats. I use the “free” (paid by my taxes) app Libby”. Isn’t it time for this concept to be developed across the board for public libraries, saving the cost of brick and mortar? $70 Million so we can accommodate a 70 space parking garage?
100% agree
Agreed! This is the definition if insanity. I shouldn’t be surprised as this is par for the course in the City.
The cost of living is skyrocketing in the city and we have one of the highest evictions rates in the nation. Let’s celebrate by spending $70 million to replace a perfectly good library.
um, doesn’t that top rendering of the “western end” show the addition on property at First and Main that is not owned by RPL, and currently has a historic structure (circa-1815 Crozet House)?
The image appears to be from the Franklin Street elevation, so the addition is Franklin and 1st rather than along Main.
don’t think so. existing section that fronts on Franklin (with new solar panels on the roof) is at the left of that rendering. pretty sure that’s First and Main at lower right
i agree. i can’t make sense of this rendering. we need more context here.
It IS the Franklin Street elevation. They propose demolishing the original Dooley wing of the building, including the Gellman Room, the Special Collections Room, the Children’s department and the Dooley Foyer.
Justin, i see what you’re seeing now, it just didn’t look like 15% demo and replacement to me!
So they are removing the entire portico along Franklin? Probably the defining feature of the building. Hardly leaving the 1972 structure untouched… And that rendering looks pretty awful.
As a neighbor to the library, I can attest that is is widely used for purposes beyond books. There are art exhibits. Makers classes. It is a voting precinct. There are lectures. It’s often a destination for the unhoused, where people of lower means have access to the internet, not to mention heat or air conditioning. The library park provides a common green space in mid-town. It functions much more as a community center than a library, and serves as a connection point where people from different walks of life can intersect and connect, and in that way is a… Read more »
The city routinely holds public meetings in the basement auditorium, as well as other public meetings in the smaller annex conference room. As for some of the above comments, there are still a number of citizens that don’t have high-speed internet. And some people still prefer to have an analog version of a book. I personally dislike trying to read a book on my phone or laptop and until covid i routinely got books from the library. There are also a number of publications that are not readily available online, especially reference materials (as Scott Firestine touched on), and being… Read more »
Of all the things we need in Richmond, a $70m library renovation certainly isn’t one of them. Let’s please get the meal tax and property tax rates down first before funding projects like this.
Because I don’t know everything, I’m curious if this idea about keeping half of the existing building while replacing the other half makes sense economically. Architects & engineers, what are your thoughts?
I agree with Bruce’s comments. The first step is to determine daily usage at the library. I would suspect that it isn’t a robust number. Secondly, a better use of the $70 million would be for the construction of two (2) new schools. If you can’t read the library is meaningless!
Parking?????
Looks nice! But, where are all the historical protest people???
I am not sure why they are wasting dollars on the design. They city’s “credit card” is maxed out with last schools and as bonding capacity opens all of that will going to cover the cost of the new George Wythe HIgh School. Once Wythe is built it will be 3-5 years before we have enough to do this library and there are MANY MANY MANY other needs in front of him. John Marshall is about it is end; Fire Station 12 is set to be replaced. And we don’t issue bond like the County can for large group projects.… Read more »
I really encourage the Library to save the art deco building. Replace a different part of the property, if necessary. That building is a true gem.
What art deco building?
I remember going the the main library in the early 50’s. The kids department was in the basement. I would go around to the side of the building and there was a stairway down to enter directly. I would walk around the stacks always discovering something new. I read the Wizard of OZ series; the Jungle Book was one of my favorites and then there were the sports books where the kid would win the day. Call me a Luddite but there is something wonderful about curling up on a chair in the sun and reading a tangible book that… Read more »
Hi Kim. Long time. There’s plenty of room for both but the demographic trends we’re seeing do not justify spending $70M on a renovation of a public use that largely serves a diminishing need.
One of the ugliest building proposals I’ve seen… And seemingly misplaced priorities for the project: parking, of all things. They should reconsider the project, and get a different architect immediately.