The Central Library

We brought onto our team one of the region's best library consultants - Randy Gibson from PSA/Dewberry - to ensure that the free-standing building we wanted to propose would i) reflect state-of-the-art design for a 21st Century library, ii) be efficient to operate and iii) be open and inviting to the community.

I recently asked Randy to describe the functional and philosophical differences between a central library and a branch facility. Here's what he had to say:

"Historically, central libraries have usually been the first library in the community. They are most often the largest facility within a multiple facility library system, both in terms of physical structure and collection sizes.

Central libraries tend to be located in the historic center of a community, whereas branch libraries tend to be established as service points to areas that are growing and/ or to provide convenience to geographic expansion.

Perhaps the major difference between a central library and branch library, however, is the fact that the central library typically enjoys historical, cultural and architectural significance, whereas branch libraries enjoy no such iconic importance. Because of this, it is of critical importance that the central library be viewed as an independent entity – both physically and organizationally.

The character of the central library communicates a great deal about the values of the community, not only to its citizens, but to outsiders as well. Is it symbolic of grandeur? Is it welcoming yet formidable? Does it communicate a sense of importance? Or is it in the background or hidden? The significance of this difference is profound.

There are typically some fundamental differences in functionality between central and branch library facilities. The central library, as is implied in its name, typically houses centralized services – administration, technical services (processing), interlibrary loaning, and technology support services. Outreach services are often contained within the central library.

Besides staff functions, the central library is often distinct from branch facilities in terms of public services. Notably, central libraries will frequently house the highly specialized collections (local history, genealogy, rare books, etc). It is these collections that draw people from often far away places.

Because of the typical demographics surrounding the central city, central libraries have smaller children’s libraries, smaller young adult (or teen) spaces, but larger reference collections, career development materials, and greater numbers of digital resources. Branch libraries cater to a more targeted audience. Often, the branch is highly geared to popular materials, and can be seen as having more space dedicated to children, to casual reading, library programming, and to technology. "