On November 29, 2022, BPL President David Leonard and Priscilla Foley led a meeting to update the community on South End Branch developments. They announced that the City is committed to a full renovation of the Branch, using an accelerated process to be formally kicked off after January 1, 2023. Once an architectural firm is hired, BPL will hold another community meeting on Zoom, which will be recorded and available for public viewing. The target date for the meeting is March 2023.

The key phases of the new capital project will be as follows:

Study Phase. A Programming Study will be conducted to gather input and develop preliminary design elements. The current plan is to use the existing site and to keep the space exclusively for library use, rather than adding housing or some other mixed purpose use.

o Community meetings will occur during the Programming Study for providing information and receiving input.

o A Project Manager will be assigned to manage the process of seeking requests for proposals from architectural firms with previous library experience. A committee comprised of three people from the City, two from BPL, and one from FOSEL will select the firm.

o The size of the new Library will be determined by many factors, including BPL/City requirements for the different patron populations, e.g., adults, teens, children, the size of the community served, computer availability for adults and teens, the size of the collection, community room needs, the number of smaller meeting rooms desired, etc. Expanding into the Park is a possibility, as is expanding upward (though increasing the square footage would have implications for staffing which would have to be considered). The Study will also look at whether it makes sense to include lockers for public use and whether to feature children’s rooms with their own, appropriately sized children-only bathrooms.

Design Phase. Based on the results of the Programming Study, the architects will determine whether to renovate or rebuild and how best to design the new space. They will consider accessibility issues and will present options to the community before finalizing the design.

Construction Phase. The final stage will be engaging in construction based on the selected design.

The BPL representatives could not say with certainty how long the full process will take but noted that the Adams Branch renovation was in the planning stages for two years and then in construction for two additional years.

Addressing the plan for accommodating unhoused patrons, the BPL representatives noted that they have engaged a team of social workers who help provide job training and social services information, and that staff are trained in how to handle challenges that can come with serving this population.

Temporary Services

The BPL representatives expressed their satisfaction in partnering with the FOSEL on the neighborhood survey to determine which temporary services to prioritize. The results were made available in December and a summary is posted on the FOSEL website.