Burleson may be building a new library
The Burleson Library Board discussed a library master plan featuring a $52.5 million 60,000-square-foot library build at its last meeting
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BURLESON – Tuesday at the Library Board meeting at City Hall, Burleson Library deputy director Sara Miller presented a library master plan featuring concepts for a new 60,505-square-foot public library.
The new library would cost $52.5 million if construction began in 2024, according to the presentation. The construction of a new library isn’t included in the city’s five-year capital plan. The construction costs are estimated to increase 6% every year.
The presentation included 720 Design’s findings on the Burleson Public Library. Burleson started working with 720 Design on a library master plan in January 2022.
The Burleson Public Library “has reached the time for an update/refresh to finishes and fixtures” due to wear, according to the presentation.
The top requested services this new library would provide include a quiet reading area, an outdoor study/work space, a multi-purpose activity room, community-gathering and performance spaces, a teen activity area, a STE(A)M learning area, a mobile-demonstration kitchen, a group-study/tutoring room, an outdoor learning area, coffee/vending services, a craft room/makerspace and a computer lab, according to the presentation.
The library doesn’t have much meeting space, which has forced it to decline to host meetings that have been requested, Amanda Cadenhead, community engagement librarian, said Monday. The library’s study rooms aren’t sound-proofed, and it can get loud in the library since it’s used as a community-gathering area, Cadenhead said.
One of the top reasons people don’t use the library is it doesn’t have what they need, according to the presentation.
“We’re running out of space, and the city is growing so fast,” Cadenhead said.
Burleson would have to grow to 100,841 people for the proposed 60,505-square-foot library to meet the American Library Association’s basic standard of .6 square-feet per capita.
The Burleson Public Library (17,000 square feet) offers .28 square-feet per capita to Burleson’s 60,771-people population. The Texas average is .51 square-feet per capita.
The new library-construction is estimated to take approximately 42 months, according to the presentation.
The proposal hasn’t been presented to the Burleson City Council for approval yet. The city council is meeting Monday to discuss realigning Burleson’s capital-improvement plan to pay for expanding the police-department building.
I think this library sounds fantastic, but it’s definitely a matter of funding!
Did they mention where the new location would be?