Insights


Planning a Next Generation Library Renovation with One Foot in and One Foot Beyond a Pandemic

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Through the pandemic, we all have adapted to providing resources to our communities, but most have been short-term responses and stop gaps for the current crisis. This raises the question of the long-term consequences of the pandemic for library design.

 

Back in March 2020—while preparing to shift to remote services—Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library (CHPL) was receiving proposals for the renovation of a 25,000 SF, former TJ Maxx to become its first Next Generation Library in Cincinnati’s Deer Park neighborhood. By thinking about how this new library should respond to the current crisis, and beyond it, we were able to strategically plan and create adaptable spaces to respond to community needs as they change over time. This could involve abrupt, short-term needs like COVID imposed social distancing requirements, but also meet the unique needs of the community by providing spaces flexible enough to support senior social hours in the morning, afterschool snacks in the afternoon, and ESL classes that serve newly arrived community members in the evening.


In our presentation at the 2021 Ohio Libraries Conference, CHPL COO Brett Bonfield and I shared our insights from the design process we used to create this Next Generation Library, which officially opened its doors to the public in December. 
Click through the slides to learn more about key design strategies.

 

Learn more about our library projects here. Read more of our insights on flexible, adaptable, and resilient library design here and here.


Amanda Markovic, AIA, is a Principal at GBBN. Her passion for public libraries has led to multiple award-winning renovations for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Knoxville and Beechview, the Baldwin Borough Public Library as well as the Next Generation Library at Deer Park for the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library.