The recent “refresh” to the South End Library significantly improved its look, feel and functionality.  But with the exponential growth of the South End community over the past decade, BPL and City leaders have acknowledged that a more comprehensive overhaul is required to fully meet the evolving needs of our neighborhood now and into the future.  Accordingly, initial planning has begun for a multi-million-dollar expansion of the South End Branch into a state-of-the-art facility to support 21st-century library services for the community.

The process for a major library renovation begins with a year-long study (referred to as a “Programming Study”) conducted by the City’s Facilities Department and its selected architectural firm to determine what library services are needed.  The determination is based on current neighborhood demographic data and the space available for expansion.  The South End Library’s site, which includes Library Park (owned by the BPL but managed by the Boston Department of Parks and Recreation), is approximately 16,000 square feet, with the building accounting for about 8,000 square feet.  

At the outset of the Programming Study, slated for early 2021, a public meeting open to the entire South End community will be held, at which local residents will be invited to provide thoughts and ideas regarding what they would like to see in their improved Library.  This feedback will inform the Programming Study, which will be followed by a Design Study, additional opportunities for public input, and, finally, the funding and construction of a new South End Library.  It is anticipated that the full process will take 3-5 years.  

FOSEL board members are now gathering relevant information through contacts with neighborhood associations, nonprofits, schools and churches, which will be presented to the Programming Study team.  At the same time, we hope to ignite the community’s collective imagination and interest in contributing ideas and becoming engaged with the Study.  We will post the date and location of the initial public meeting when it is scheduled.    

In early preparation for the coming renovation process, a committee of FOSEL’s directors last year conducted reconnaissance visits to other Boston branch libraries as well as to libraries around the country.   We spoke with librarians, took photos, explored the various program offerings, and studied the nature of the communities served, seeking ideas and similarities to the South End.  Our results have been compiled in a presentation shared with BPL, available here.

The visits generated some preliminary concepts regarding what we might like to see in an upgraded Library.  These include:

*State-of-the-art electronic/digital infrastructure 

*Multi-lingual signage and informational digital touch-screens 

*A spacious, separate area dedicated to teens 

*A children’s room that can accommodate various age groups and activities 

* Seating arrangements attractive for seniors, adults, teens and differently-abled Library users

*A community space dedicated to the prominent display of images and artifacts of the South End and the many books written by local authors

*Art exhibition space with windows on Tremont and West Newton Streets to better connect the Library to the streetscape

*Flexible rooms of various sizes/capacities for tutoring, conferences, workshops, and neighborhood meetings

*Retail space for businesses that complement a public library’s mission, such as a café, a book/craft store, a food purveyor who offers culinary workshops

WE WOULD ALSO LOVE TO HEAR YOUR IDEAS FOR A SOUTH END LIBRARY RENOVATION!  

Please email us at info@friendsofsouthendlibrary.org with your thoughts and suggestions.