Summerlanders offered their suggestions for the new library branch at an open house last week.
Michele Rule, communications manager with the Okanagan Regional Library, said around 150 people stopped at the open house last Tuesday.
Three designs were shown for the new building.
The plans are a compact design, using a traditional rectangular design, a vertical plan featuring a more elongated footprint and an L-shaped option.
Each of the plans is around 743 square metres, or more than twice the size of the existing library building on Wharton Street.
The differences are in the configurations, not the total amount of space, Rule said.
In the end, the vertical plan and the L-shaped plan received the most interest.
While some offered their thoughts about specific details of the new building, Rule said many more were happy to see a larger building in the works. “There were a lot of people who were just happy they’re getting a new library,” she said.
The existing library is 314 square metres. It was built in 1981 and for at least a decade, the need for a larger building has been discussed.
The size of a library is based on the population of its service area.
The new Summerland library will be larger than required for the present needs of the community, but it will accommodate future growth.
Rule said the new facility will take the role of “a community living room.” It will have meeting spaces as well as spaces for books and resource materials.
The plan for the library is expected to be completed by June 25. After that, the library board will make its decision on the plan.
In August, preparation work will begin at the site on Main Street, with construction to begin by the middle of September.
The new facility is expected to open in 2015.