This is a 144-page report. I have excerpted only the simple Executive Summary and Table of Contents in this brief document. – Bruce Flanders (August 2007)
Lawrence Public Library
Vision for 2025
February 22, 2006
MS&R
Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, Ltd.
Library Architects and Interior Designers
and
LPA
Library Planning Associates
With assistance from
Gould Evans Associates
Prime Consultants to the City of Lawrence
© 2006 MS&R and LPA
Prepared for
The City of Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence Public Library
Contact:
Jeffrey A. Scherer, FAIA
Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, Ltd.
710 South Second Street, Suite 700
Minneapolis, MN 55401
T 612.359.3223 E jeffrey@msrltd.com
Anders Dahlgren
Library Planning Associates
P.O. Box 44006
Madison, WI 53744
T 608.355.1070 E anders@libraryplan.com
Executive Summary
Based on the service requirements and mission of the Lawrence Public Library,
demographic projections through the year 2025, and past utilization of the central
library space and collection by the residents this report recommends:
• Building a new or expanded library for the citizens of Lawrence with
139,998 gross square feet in order to accommodate 395,000 print
volumes, 240 reader’s seats, 148 computer seats, 770 meeting room seats
(470 for adults and 300 for youth and children), 59,250 non-print items,
and 400 on-site structured parking spaces.1
• Future consideration of building branch libraries to supplement the service
needs of the community.
Recommended Needs
• Print collections: Shift from 3.18 to 3.43 books per capita (from 46th to
80th percentile).
• Circulation of materials: Move from 9.75 to ~12.60 items per capita (50th
to 75th percentile).
• Magazines: Shift from 431 titles to +/-500 (28th to 75th percentile).2
• Non-print: Shift from 10% to 15% of print.
• Gate count: Grow from 25th to 50th percentile (currently 5.57 per 1,000).
• Computer Terminals: Grow from 35 to 148.
• Seating: Increase to 240 reader’s seats and 148 PC seats.
• Increase meeting room options significantly.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ................................................................................................ 5
Introduction and Acknowledgements ..................................................................... 7
Purpose of This Report........................................................................................... 9
Assessment of Library Space Needs...................................................................... 11
The Library and the Reading Public ........................................... 13
Library and Community............................................................. 15
City of Lawrence Characteristics ................................................ 17
Service Needs.............................................................................. 21
Planning Framework .................................................................. 23
Annual Revenue ......................................................................... 25
Staffing ....................................................................................... 27
Standards for Calculating Library Size ....................................... 29
Future Expansion and Branches ................................................. 30
Comparison with Other Cities.................................................... 33
Cities with Similar Populations................................................... 35
Big 12 Cities ............................................................................... 36
LPL Rank: Big 12 cities .............................................................. 37
Rank of LPL for major Statistics ................................................ 38
Current Ranking ........................................................................ 39
Collection Size............................................................................ 40
State of Kansas Accreditation Standards .................................... 41
Service Parameters...................................................................... 43
Main Library Area Required ...................................................... 51
Circulation of Materials ....................................................................................... 53
Building Summary ................................................................................................ 55
Public Visioning Sessions Executive Summary...................................................... 59
Lot Area Required................................................................................................ 60
Public/Private Partnership Requirements .............................................................. 61
Project Budget ...................................................................................................... 63
Relationship of the Academic and Public Library................................................. 65
Sustainability ........................................................................................................ 67
Size of Library Today ........................................................................................... 69
Considerations for Reducing Size of Library ........................................................ 71
Appendices
Slides for Joint Commissioner and Library Board Meeting .........................A (1-12)
Space Needs Detail by Functional Area ....................................................... B (1-34)
Collection Distribution Summary.................................................................. C (1-5)
Seating Distribution Summary.......................................................................D (1-2)
Space Needs Summary by Floor .................................................................... E (1-8)