Pacific Northwest Library Association Conference

Jim Cary and Marisa Mangum presented “Refresh Your Library” at the 2015 Pacific Northwest Library Association Conference in Vancouver, Washington in early August. Keith Darrock, the Technical Services Manager at the Port Townsend Public Library, joined us onstage, and we used his library’s recent renovation project as a case study for how to successfully start a project. While our summary may seem specific to libraries, we use this solid starting process for virtually all of our projects.

Many renovation projects begin with a relatively simple repair such as replacing the carpet and repainting. This 10-20 year building maintenance milestone is an excellent opportunity to update and reorganize to accommodate changing needs, update technology, replace furniture, and incorporate new finishes. The essential steps for reorganizing your library include:

• Identify Project Goals and Priorities
• Develop a Building Program
• Engage Opportunities & Solve Problems
• Develop a Budget & Plan for Building the Changes

Steps 1 & 2 are the Planning Process, Steps 3 & 4 are the Design Process, and construction follows. The intent of our presentation was to emphasize the benefits of a complete planning process, and demonstrate how solid early planning efforts can successfully drive the entire project all the way through completion.

Our planning process typically begins with library staff, community, and civic leadership workshops to determine project goals and priorities. We ask open questions such as:

• What do you want for your library?
• How would a visitor describe your library?
• How do you want a visitor to describe your library?
• What is working well in your library?
• What is not working well in your library?
• What are your sustainability goals?
• What are spaces you dream of having in your library?

These questions inspire discussions about the overall library vision, and this vision becomes our library refresh direction. Hidden opportunities and design gems are often discovered and developed in this early design process. This thoughtful, responsible and accountable early design process can transform a carpet replacement project into a library transformation, and create a facility with better flow, expanded technology, bright finishes, and higher library attendance!

A librarian at the conference astutely offered that she makes sure to walk through her library’s front door every day to see her library through a visitor’s eyes. It’s with this open mindset that thoughtful early project planning takes place, and library refresh projects succeed.

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