Reading redesigned – Geeking out over the new downtown library plans

I briefly considered writing something today about the complicated debacle going on with CATS in the last couple of weeks. But the more rational side of my brain said this.

Fortunately, there were some interesting and positive developments this week, mainly in regards to the River Center Branch Library downtown. The new schematic design (an example of which you can see at right) was presented to the public Thursday afternoon, and I’m a nerd for schematic designs, so here’s a link to the full presentation.

You’ll notice a shiny, right-angled, many-windowed building facing North Boulevard’s Town Square and expertly blocking the view of our prison-style Eastern-bloc City Hall.

It contains plenty of conference and meeting spaces, a second floor dedicated to children’s activities and programming, several rooms for teen programming, a video projection screen on an exterior wall facing Galvez Plaza that can be used for broadcasts and movies, and a café area that I’m pretty sure—based on the blueprint—has a walk-up window to the covered public plaza.

The design is a large improvement from the initial Lego blocks concept sketches we saw just a few weeks ago via WHLC Architecture and Schwartz/Silver. To say it’s an improvement from Trey Trahan’s controversial design from a few years ago would be hard to argue because that one had such a short life.

But the architecture firms’ more detailed design seems to hit all the right marks in terms of functionality and taking into account community input for a public facility that will serve as a downtown focal point. If you happened to see Assistant Library Director Mary Stein’s TEDxLSU talk earlier this year, you know they are all about expanding what a library can be in a society that has long since moved past the card catalog system. I think this is an exciting step in the right direction.

The timeline for the new library calls for about 20 months of construction and completion in early 2016.

Oh, and below is Stein’s TEDxLSU talk, in case you are interested in geeking out about libraries. While the YouTube video still makes it look like she’s about to belt out an aria, she doesn’t, but it’s a pretty great talk nonetheless.

In other news, there are two meetings next week that should be worth your time if you are interested in smart growth topics in Baton Rouge.

Carolyn McKnight, BREC superintendent, will speak at the Baton Rouge Press Club Monday, July 22. She will discuss progress on the 2004 Imagine Your Parks plan and future projects. The Press Club meeting is at De La Ronde Hall, 320 Third St. Lunch, which is served at 11:30 a.m., is $12 for members and $15 for nonmembers. The public is invited, but only fancy media folks are allowed to ask questions during the Q&A portion.

On Tuesday, July 23, a town hall-style meeting will be held at Southern University’s College of Business Global Conference Center, Elton C. Harrison Drive. The meeting, 6-8 p.m., is slated to bring the community up to date on CATS and the recommended next steps.