In the shadow of the 52-year-old building, representatives from the Anne Arundel County Public Library (AACPL) along with County Executive Steve Schuh and other local officials broke ground on the new Annapolis Library.
The 32,500 square foot facility, the first new library in 14 years, is expected to reopen by late 2019 or early 2020.
“For the last 52 years, we have been proudly serving the residents of Anne Arundel County at the Annapolis Library,” AACPL CEO Hampton “Skip” Auld said. “Today’s groundbreaking marks the beginning of a new story of the library helping to strengthen our community with more resources and more space.”
The new library will feature a modern design, teen space, tech zone, tinker space, vending café, expanded children’s space, three meeting rooms and five collaboration spaces.
Local architects Wheeler, Goodman Masek & Associates with support from Margaret Sullivan Studios and Louis Cherry Architecture, are designing the building. The project is expected to cost $24 million.
“The new Annapolis Library will be the flagship in an already incredible library system,” said County Executive Schuh. “This will be a place where child and parent alike can fall in love with reading, and where communities come together to build stronger ties.”
“I’m thrilled that we are starting the next chapter in the story of the new Annapolis Library today,” said Councilmember Chris Trumbauer. “This facility will help us turn the page from a library of the past to a library of the future. With a beautiful design, larger meeting rooms and specialized spaces for different types of users, this will be a community resource everyone will want to checkout.”
Drawings of the new Annapolis Library can be found at www.aacpl.net/new-annapolis.