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Editorial: Downtown Tampa needs better library

 
Published Oct. 29, 2014

Tampa's growing downtown is adding many of the amenities urban dwellers want, from apartments and restaurants to new parks, riverfront paths and cultural events that give the city center a 24/7 feel. But a weak point is the downtown library, a string of worn and dated buildings in the heart of the cultural arts district. A new report on the sorry state of the facility should be a starting point in creating a more modern and vibrant downtown library.

The consultant's report, part of a master plan for the nearly 50-year-old facility, describes the John F. Germany Public Library as dated and inefficient. Its design flaws and sprawling use of space across three separate buildings makes it inconvenient to use and inefficient to operate. The complex's architecture does not make a statement or attract the eye, and its squat layout over an entire city block is a poor use of valuable downtown property that blocks views of the riverfront.

The consultant looked at two options: collapsing the complex and adding to the main building on Ashley Drive, or relocating to a new site. Renovating would be cheaper, and the library would benefit by keeping an established location near a parking garage in the arts district. Building a new library, though, would give the city-county library system the opportunity to design a modern facility from scratch, creating the sort of usable space for digital and other learning tools that any modern library needs.

The library system actually has several additional options, from building a new facility at the existing site to including a new library within a new private development project downtown. The city wasted an opportunity in 2013 to plan for the library's future when it approved a new residential tower between the library and the Straz Center. But there still is a chance the city can be creative about leveraging the existing site to both create a new library and to open up the areas around it to more green space.

This report offers no clear answers, but it at least begins a conversation about the library, and reinforces the value that these institutions have in every neighborhood. The digital age has made libraries more — not less — relevant. In downtowns particularly, libraries double as a public meeting ground for events, learning and community involvement.

The Germany complex may have run its course, but the main library still has a solid mission as a reference hub and resource for the branch libraries. Its location also puts the library on the cusp of serving a new niche now that downtown is coming alive. The city and county need to consider what they want from the library, and examine the options and the costs. This is an opportunity to build a 21st century library that defines downtown and acts as a magnet for visitors and growth.