If you’ve visited Central Library in the last few days, you’ve noticed the start of an internal redesign that has been in the planning stages for almost a year.
It’s part of an overall effort to make Central as efficient as possible and its the first real overhaul in several years. The new look is based on the evolved needs of patrons.
In coming weeks, we will be:
- Making the audio/visuals collection a more cohesive, one-stop location with a service desk close by
- Moving new books to the east lobby area for better viewing (photo)
- Creating space for self-serve holds, which have become popular in all Arlington branches
- Creating more public seating and an additional group study room, formerly the old Literacy Lab
- The new Literacy Lab moves into and will share the Non-Profit Center upstairs
- For the first time ever, we will open for public use the 10th Street entrance and create a community information area in the foyer
- Creating much improved first floor sight-lines
- Creating new art display areas
- Shifting popular paperbacks upstairs
We hope you like what you see at the new Central. Let us know what you think.
I think it looks great! I tried the self-service holds this morning for the first time, and it was very convenient. I notice you also cleared out the reference books next to the copiers on the second floor — what will go there? Study tables would be nice (and in 25 years, I think I used those reference works once).But, you know, one of the nicest ideas in libraries is one I saw in Heidelberg, Germany, 15 years ago, and that was a coffee shop joined to the outside of the library with current newspapers and periodicals. We need that!-Dave