AUSTIN | Main Public Library | 123 FEET | 6 FLOORS | COMPLETE

KevinFromTexas · #1 Posted **Feb 19, 2011, 6:31 AM**

http://impactnews.com/central-austin...entral-library

Quote:

Austin’s new central library

By Bobby Longoria
Friday, 28 January 2011

CENTRAL AUSTIN — Austin’s first library of the future, a facility meant to propagate community activity and knowledge through technology and innovation, will open its doors in downtown by 2015.

“We are going to build a hundred-year building that is built for the ages—to endure,” said John Gillum, facilities planning manager for Austin’s new central library. “In 2015, we want to be on the cutting edge of how people want their information.”

Libraries were once quiet strongholds of information, with rows of books lined up spine to spine. Austin’s current central library, the John Henry Faulk Central Library, was built with this model in 1979, but as technology grew and as the population became more interconnected, this model became antiquated, Gillum said.

At a size between 185,000 square feet and 200,000 square feet, the central library will be nearly twice the size of the Faulk library. An underground parking garage with 200 spots will be built alongside the library. There will be 17 different meeting spaces, including study rooms, conference rooms and a special event center that will hold 350 people.

M1EK · #2 Posted **Feb 21, 2011, 5:58 PM**

They're building a library for 100 years yet crowing about a parking garage that's going to make it irredeemably suburban, hard to access by transit, and much more expensive.

Yay?

JAM · #3 Posted **Feb 21, 2011, 7:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by M1EK

They're building a library for 100 years yet crowing about a parking garage that's going to make it irredeemably suburban, hard to access by transit, and much more expensive.

Yay?

I'm willing to bet that cars will still be here in 100 years. I'll have my kids kids kids pick up the money on anyone wanting to take that bet. I don't see why this location is any worse/better as far as transit goes, transit can change routes. I think the location is an excellent location being very central to other things besides the library - I can envision it being a nice place to meet and being a focal point for the community. That is if there is anyone left that can actually read.

DougRockstead · #4 Posted **Feb 21, 2011, 9:20 PM**

putting the cart before the horse? So they shouldn't build a parking garage? that's a little off kilter. Maybe in a 100 year we'll all have jetpacks and won't need them, but you're going to need a parking garage to meet everyone's needs now. unless you don't want anyone to use the library?

M1EK · #5 Posted **Feb 22, 2011, 2:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAM

I'm willing to bet that cars will still be here in 100 years. I'll have my kids kids kids pick up the money on anyone wanting to take that bet. I don't see why this location is any worse/better as far as transit goes, transit can change routes. I think the location is an excellent location being very central to other things besides the library - I can envision it being a nice place to meet and being a focal point for the community. That is if there is anyone left that can actually read.

Cars weren't here 100 years ago (well, they weren't typical); and, no, it's not as easy as "transit can change routes". I went into it in more detail on the crackplog a couple years ago here and earlier here

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Long-haul bus routes don't make two-block jogs just for the hell of it (people already complain about how supposedly indirect these things are). Each one of those bus routes might deliver a dozen passengers a day to the existing library - enough to make it a valuable part of the demand for the current route, but not enough to justify hauling a long, heavy, bus around a bunch of tight corners.

JAM · #6 Posted **Feb 22, 2011, 5:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by M1EK

Cars weren't here 100 years ago (well, they weren't typical); and, no, it's not as easy as "transit can change routes". I went into it in more detail on the crackplog a couple years ago here and earlier here

I'd advocate bring back a Dillo to establish a dedicated circulator that ran up and down Guadalupe and Lavaca. This would fit the no turn requirement your crackplog suggests and would drop people off 3 blocks from the library and pretty much anything else in downtown/UT area, and probably increase ridership to boot - I submit the primary reason people who own cars don't take bus who might otherwise is because convenience issues - long waits and instincts which tell them any given route is unpredictable.

M1EK · #7 Posted **Feb 22, 2011, 6:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAM

I'd advocate bring back a Dillo to establish a dedicated circulator that ran up and down Guadalupe and Lavaca. This would fit the no turn requirement your crackplog suggests and would drop people off 3 blocks from the library and pretty much anything else in downtown/UT area, and probably increase ridership to boot - I submit the primary reason people who own cars don't take bus who might otherwise is because convenience issues - long waits and instincts which tell them any given route is unpredictable.

Transfers kill ridership too. The old library is right on a handful of long-distance routes and 2-3 blocks off pretty much all the rest of the major routes. A ton of people can get to it without a transfer (and they do; hang out there some morning and watch people get off the bus and go in the building).

JAM · #8 Posted **Feb 22, 2011, 7:24 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by M1EK

Transfers kill ridership too. The old library is right on a handful of long-distance routes and 2-3 blocks off pretty much all the rest of the major routes. A ton of people can get to it without a transfer (and they do; hang out there some morning and watch people get off the bus and go in the building).

I wonder how many of those people are work at home people who are establishing an office at the library? I've heard reports of this.

M1EK · #9 Posted **Feb 22, 2011, 9:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAM

I wonder how many of those people are work at home people who are establishing an office at the library? I've heard reports of this.

Relatively few. Stereotyping, it's more elderly and lower-income folks that I saw get off the bus there. (I've taken the bus there myself before, and am now using a walker, so there you go).

JAM · #10 Posted **Dec 27, 2011, 9:33 PM**

ohn Gillum started working for the Austin Public Library system in 1979, the year what's now the John Henry Faulk Central Library opened.

At the time, the city was less the half its current size. The library system used computers to manage its circulation, but personal computers weren't considered an essential service, so libraries weren't designed or wired to accommodate them. Internet access was first provided in 1995.

Much has changed in the past 32 years, and now Gillum is helping plan and build the City of Austin what he said he hopes will be the most advanced library in the U.S. The city's "library of the future" will provide the same information and community services that residents need from traditional libraries, with a focus on innovation and flexibility, he said.

"We realize we're going out on a limb," Gillum said. "We want to do our best job, and that means we do everything we can to prepare for change. We're trying to future-proof it."

That means shelves will be on casters, so that any space can be transformed as needed, Gillum said. Displays will draw visitors to new materials, including books and magazines, as well as digital media. The library will have meeting rooms and amphitheaters to host community gatherings.

The $120 million facility will be built using bonds initially approved in 2006 and will open on Halloween 2015, if all goes according to plan, Gillum said. The 200,000-square-foot library will be a few blocks west of City Hall and will serve as the hub for the Austin system's nearly two-dozen branches.

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...t-2058739.html

electricron · #11 Posted **Dec 28, 2011, 3:59 PM**

I wouldn't expect the new library will last 100 years, the last central library didn't last 25 years before it was obsolete. Technology will always be improving.

My question is, what are the plans for the old central library?

Jdawgboy · #12 Posted **Dec 28, 2011, 9:33 PM**

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Originally Posted by electricron

I wouldn't expect the new library will last 100 years, the last central library didn't last 25 years before it was obsolete. Technology will always be improving.

My question is, what are the plans for the old central library?

I think I read somewhere that they plan on using the old library for expansion of the Austin History archives and museum.

KevinFromTexas · #13 Posted **Jun 30, 2012, 8:07 PM**

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/ne...contracts.html

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Council OKs millions in large contracts

Austin Business Journal by Vicky Garza, Staff Writer
Date: Friday, June 29, 2012, 2:53pm CDT - Last Modified: Friday, June 29, 2012, 3:26pm CDT

Vicky Garza
Staff Writer- Austin Business Journal

The Austin City Council approved several large contracts at its June 28 meeting.

A $1.3 million amendment to the agreement with Lake | Flato Architects Inc. and Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott Inc. for architectural services for the new Central Library.

KevinFromTexas · #14 Posted **Sep 28, 2012, 4:11 AM**

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/l...entral-/nSNnd/

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Posted: 7:54 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012
NEW DETAILS: AUSTIN LIBRARY
Designs coming into focus for Austin’s new central library

By Sarah Coppola
American-Statesman Staff

Designs are nearly complete for a sunlight-filled central library that will be Austin’s biggest new public building downtown since City Hall and an anchor for an emerging retail-and-residential area.

City Council members got a look at the updated plans Thursday, and seemed pleased with what they saw: a $120 million “library of the future” that will include an airy atrium, multiple gathering spaces and a street-level cafe, among other features.

Construction is expected to start next fall, with a grand opening in spring 2016.

The facade of the six-story library will be a mix of limestone and glass that will let in plenty of natural light. It will be the hub for Austin’s nearly two-dozen library branches and will contain 530,000 books and other materials as well as 24,000 electronic books. Faulk is 110,000 square feet and contains 430,000 volumes.

Komeht · #15 Posted **Sep 28, 2012, 4:35 AM**

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Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/l...entral-/nSNnd/

120M smackeroos and probably the premier block in Austin. Good thing we're not investing in something as obsolete as lending library in the era of iPads. Oh...wait...

Also, could Austin squeeze another mid rise building into downtown?

What was wrong with 8th and Guadalupe? Too convenient?

KevinFromTexas · #16 Posted **Sep 28, 2012, 5:09 AM**

Actually, 8th & Guadalupe is horrible and anything but convenient. The Faulk Library is running out of space. It's not easy to get to as a pedestrian (Guadalupe sucks) and is a pain to get to on bicycle, again, Guadalupe, and that huge hill on 8th Street. And gasp, dare I say it? It has pretty much no parking. I know parking is a bad word in downtown, but this library serves people from areas outside of downtown. Moving the library to Cesar Chavez will help with that, not just for the increased parking, but for the better access. Cesar Chavez connects to both Mopac and I-35. Also the downtown residential concentration is going to be around the new location.

migol24 · #17 Posted **Sep 28, 2012, 5:43 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Actually, 8th & Guadalupe is horrible and anything but convenient. The Faulk Library is running out of space. It's not easy to get to as a pedestrian (Guadalupe sucks) and is a pain to get to on bicycle, again, Guadalupe, and that huge hill on 8th Street. And gasp, dare I say it? It has pretty much no parking. I know parking is a bad word in downtown, but this library serves people from areas outside of downtown. Moving the library to Cesar Chavez will help with that, not just for the increased parking, but for the better access. Cesar Chavez connects to both Mopac and I-35. Also the downtown residential concentration is going to be around the new location.

Yup! This is a perfect spot in my opinion, especially once all the development is finished. It's also gonna be extra special to be on the waterfront, that way when you are in the Library you'll have an awesome view.

nixcity · #18 Posted **Sep 28, 2012, 3:08 PM**

It's a trophy, plain and simple, I'd love to see that money spent somewhere else. How about towards the light rail, or for a museum? Oh well, it still will be cool I just don't understand how this has taken soooo long to start after it was approved in a bond years ago, what could they possibly still need to do? And yet a whole more year before construction will even begin.

East7thStreet · #19 Posted **Sep 28, 2012, 6:56 PM**

Is it too late for them to change their mind on spending 120 million storing paper books? With every passing day this thing looks like a bigger and bigger joke. If they are smart they will design the space to easily be converted to office or museum space.... because that is what it is going to be in 10-20 years.

BevoLJ · #20 Posted **Sep 28, 2012, 7:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by nixcity

It's a trophy, plain and simple, I'd love to see that money spent somewhere else. How about towards the light rail, or for a museum? Oh well, it still will be cool I just don't understand how this has taken soooo long to start after it was approved in a bond years ago, what could they possibly still need to do? And yet a whole more year before construction will even begin.

I think the amount approved was $90 million but the cost was still $120 million so they still needed to find the other $30 million to get started. That is why it took longer. To find all the money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by East7thStreet

Is it too late for them to change their mind on spending 120 million storing paper books? With every passing day this thing looks like a bigger and bigger joke. If they are smart they will design the space to easily be converted to office or museum space.... because that is what it is going to be in 10-20 years.

There is a lot more to a library than just storing paper books. Especially in todays digital world.