Officials with the city of Lexington are beginning to study the feasibility of buying the building that currently houses the downtown Public Library. the move could be advantageous for both parties.
Both the public library and the City of Lexington are looking for upgrades in space and are conducting research to see if the timing is right.
Needs of library patrons will be assessed as well as whether the building would be a good fit for a new location for Lexington's City Hall.
Decisions will not be made for three to four months, says Ann Hammond, Executive Director of the Lexington Public Library.
“At the same time the city was looking at its opportunities as well. The two things just sort of coincided and we decided that it would be mutually beneficial to us to look at what we could do in that regard.”
The increased need for meeting space as well as a growing interest in digital and E- copies of paper books and media has the library looking at different space options. Hammond reports that the need for digitized media has been steadily increasing with each passing year.
“The digital collections are growing every year, we are now up to nine percent of our total circulation is through E-books and E-magazines. So, clearly this is something that our community wants and that need is growing.”
Hammond says the library still wants to maintain a centralized, downtown location, and is still very much in the infancy of selecting a location. She adds that the physical collection of books will not be downsized in the move.
A consultant hired by the city will have a full report exploring all options for both parties finalized by the end of November.
