11.17.16 Library Commission-Landmarks Board joint study seesion
1. Approval of Agenda
2. Matters from the Library Commission
a. Memo: Joint Meeting talking points
b. Colorado Cultural Resource Survey Historic Architectural Inventory of the Main Library
north building
3. Update on Library Master Plan process – Jennifer Phares, Deputy Library Director
4. Discussion
5. Adjournment
Library Commissioners:
Joni Teter, Chair
Alicia Gibb, Vice Chair
Tim O’Shea
Juana Gomez
Joel Koenig
Landmarks Board Members:
Deborah Yin, Chair
Fran Sheets, Vice Chair
Eric Budd
Briana Butler
Ronnie Pelusio
CITY OF BOULDER
LIBRARY COMMISSION & LANDMARKS BOARD
JOINT STUDY SESSION
DATE: Monday, November 17, 2016
TIME: 6:00 p.m.
PLACE: Main Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave., Canyon Meeting Room
1. Approval of Agenda
2. Matters from the Library Commission
a. Memo: Joint Meeting talking points
b. Colorado Cultural Resource Survey Historic Architectural Inventory of the Main Library
north building
3. Update on Library Master Plan process – Jennifer Phares, Deputy Library Director
4. Discussion
5. Adjournment
Library Commissioners:
Joni Teter, Chair
Alicia Gibb, Vice Chair
Tim O’Shea
Juana Gomez
Joel Koenig
Landmarks Board Members:
Deborah Yin, Chair
Fran Sheets, Vice Chair
Eric Budd
Briana Butler
Ronnie Pelusio
CITY OF BOULDER
LIBRARY COMMISSION & LANDMARKS BOARD
JOINT STUDY SESSION
DATE: Monday, November 17, 2016
TIME: 6:00 p.m.
PLACE: Main Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave., Canyon Meeting Room
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M E M O R A N D U M
Boulder Library Commission/Landmarks Board Joint Meeting
November 17th, 2016
TO: The Boulder Library Commission & Landmarks Board
FROM: David Farnan, Library/Arts Director
James Hewat, Senior Historic Preservation Planner
SUBJECT: Discussion of Results of the historic resource re-survey of the North Wing
of the Boulder Public Library.
I. PURPOSE
To provide the Library Commission and Landmarks Board the opportunity to discuss
the results of the historic resource survey of the North Wing of the Boulder Public
Library. No action of the Library Commission or Landmarks Board is being requested
at this time.
II. QUESTIONS
A. Re-survey of the north wing of the Boulder Public Library:
Does the Planning Commission/Landmarks Board have questions or comments
on:
1. The information included in the re-survey?
2. The recommendations of the re-survey?
3. Other questions?
B. Boulder Public Library’s Master Planning Process:
1. The November 17th Library Commission talking points?
2. Other questions?
C. Civic Area West Bookend Planning Process
1. The West Bookend Planning Process?
2. Other questions?
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III. HISTORIC SURVEY OF THE NORTH WING OF THE BOULDER PUBLIC
LIBRARY
Background:
Historic and architectural surveys and historic contexts are the foundation for
identifying, understanding, and preserving cultural and historic resources. Surveys
inform a community about the historic resources it has and why they may be important.
Since Boulder implemented a survey program in 1977, a total of 16 survey projects have
been completed, resulting in the documentation of nearly all of the city’s historic
buildings built prior to the 1960s. Boulder is recognized as having one of the most
comprehensive historic building survey records in the state, but updating historic
survey information in the city remains a priority to ensure information is accurate and
up to date.
North Wing of the Boulder Public Library
A historic building inventory form was completed for the north Wing of the Boulder
Public Library in 1995 (see Attachment A) which found the 1961 Modernist building,
designed by local architect James Hunter, to be eligible for individual listing in the
National Register of Historic Places. In the spring of 2016 the Civic Area and Historic
Preservation staff contracted with Katherine Corbett to re-survey the building as the
initial survey was cursory in nature and over twenty years had elapsed since it was
completed.
Corbett’s resurvey of the North Wing (see Attachment B), provides considerable
documentary information about the history of the library, including the choice for its
location, its architectural features, its 1961 construction, alterations, including additions
by Gaston & Associates in 1974 The survey recommends that the 1961 North Wing of
the library is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under
criterion A (association with events that have made a contribution to broad patterns of
history) & criterion C (as a characteristic type and period of architecture associated with
renowned local architect James Hunter). Corbett also recommends that the 1974
addition by Gaston and Associates is eligible for listing in the National Register under
criteria A & C (per criterion G for buildings less than 50 years in age). The survey does
not find the 1992 South Wing, designed by local architects Midyette & Seiroe Associates,
to be eligible for listing in the National Register.
IV. THE CIVIC AREA PLANNING PROCESS
In the next few days, the Civic Area Phase I construction of the park implementation
will begin and continue through 2017. Phase I improvements will only occur west of
Broadway. Improvements for the park east of Broadway will be incorporated into the
East Bookend planning, which will occur over the next 12 to 16 months. Current staff
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work focuses on assembling and evaluating the many prior planning and analytical
studies pertinent to the East Bookend, and assembling them into a cohesive
“Opportunities and Constraints Report.” This report (anticipated to be completed in
late 2016) will be used as a tool for additional planning and community engagement
efforts, which will ultimately produce a recommended building program, conceptual
site design and urban design guidelines. These recommendations will be presented to
council for consideration in late 2017. Through a similar process, more focused planning
related to the West Bookend will commence upon completion of the Library Master
Plan update and the Human Services Strategy at the end of 2017/ beginning of 2018.
V. THE BOULDER PUBLIC LIBRARY’S MASTER PLANNING PROCESS
The Boulder Public Library is in the early stages of a master planning process (see
Attachment C), intended to provide a firm foundation for the library’s continuing
evolution to meet community needs. We are conducting broad community outreach,
using “People, Place and Platform” as the organizing context. To develop an effective
master plan, we need to understand community needs and aspirations for library
programs and services; map them to the “3Ps” to identify delivery models; and
establish priorities in the master plan.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A: 1995 Historic Building Inventory form for the North Wing of the
Boulder Public Library
Attachment B: 2016 Historic Building Architectural Inventory Form for the North
Wing of the Boulder Public Library
Attachment C: Library Commission Talking Points for November 17th, 2016 Joint
Meeting
Attachment D: September 30th, 2016 Memo to the Planning Commission about the
Resurvey the North Wing
Attachment E: 2011 Federal Emergency Management Agency Press Release
addressing historically designated buildings
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Attachment A: 1995 Historic Building Inventory form for the North Wing of the
Boulder Public Library
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Attachment B: 2016 Historic Building Architectural Inventory Form for the North
Wing of the Boulder Public Library
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Attachment C: Library Commission Talking Points for November 17th, 2016 Joint
Meeting
Library Commission/Landmarks Board Joint Study Session
November 17, 2016
Talking Points
Why did we ask to meet with you?
BPL is in the early stages of a master planning process, intended to provide a firm foundation for the
library’s continuing evolution to meet community needs. We are conducting broad community outreach,
using “People, Place and Platform” (see below) as the organizing context. To develop an effective master
plan, we need to understand community needs and aspirations for library programs and services; map
them to the “3Ps” to identify delivery models; and establish priorities in the master plan.
Facility planning (both capital planning and long term maintenance) is an essential element in any master
planning process. The Main Library’s north building will be a major focus in our master plan; it is also a
key component in planning for the Civic Area as part of the “West Bookend.”
There are three pieces of the Main library that are part of last summer’s historical survey study, the
1970’s Block (now integral to the south side functions), the Bridge, and the North Building.
The north building currently houses a number of core library programs and services, while also providing
platforms for a variety of community uses. (See slides 1-3 for a locational overview of current functions
and programs in the Main library.)
The North Building has functional deficiencies and is in need of upgrades in critical areas including
mechanical, electrical, and energy systems. When thinking about renovation and/or redevelopment, the
north building and its site present a variety of factors, including:
• flood requirements (both high hazard and floodplain);
• height restrictions (compounded by the low elevation of adjacent Boulder Creek);
• bringing the building up to modern green building standards; and
• historic value.
As part of the master planning process, the Library Commission would like to identify realistic options to
renovate and/or redevelop the north building and attached bridge. The historic values identified in the
recent survey present some threshold questions, which we would like to discuss and ultimately work with
the Landmarks Board.
Background and Context: Welcome to Library-land!
Libraries have always been about knowledge. As methods and processes change for learning and
knowledge exchange, libraries must change with them to stay relevant and serve their communities.
Libraries are no longer huge archives for books and periodicals. The community of today now uses the
library as community space for informal learning, collaboration, human connection, social interactions (in
the physical space and virtually), access to technology and Internet, job searching and creating. They
come to the library to write a business plan, attend a storytime or learn how to use a 3D printer.
The role of the 21st-century library in the digital era is built on its three key assets: people, place and
platform.
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People
The library as people reflects the shift away from building collections to building human capital,
relationships and knowledge networks in the community. People are at the center of the library’s mission
to inspire and cultivate learning, advance knowledge and nurture and strengthen communities. While
there are thousands of stories in the public library, the ones that matter most come with the people who
use the library.
Place
The physical library must undergo a transition that embraces the openness and flexibility needed to thrive
in a world of constant change. Central to this flexibility is creating spaces that can adapt to the changing
operational models of libraries.
Platform
A great library platform is a “third place”— an interactive entity that can facilitate many people operating
individually or in groups. The library platform supports the learning needs and goals of the community.
To accomplish this, libraries embody the disposition of the entrepreneurial learner: seizing opportunities
wherever they may exist, engaging others in the process. The library can then curate and archive the
solutions created for sharing and future use. As a platform, the library promotes development in the
community and society by identifying and filling gaps in community services including early-childhood
education, lifelong learning, technology literacy and e-government. The library as platform makes the
library a participatory enterprise.
Boulder’s Library: “Re-inventing the Place to Be”
This slogan was adopted by BPL staff ~ 3 years ago as Main Library’s south-side renovation neared
completion. And what a fabulous reinvention it has been! Re-invention highlights include:
• Library visits are up nearly 7%, topping 930,000 visitors system-wide in 2015 and on track for a
million visitors in 2016. (For comparison, the combined Recreation Centers had about 465,000
visitors in 2015, and Pearl Street Mall sees about 1 million visitors annually.)
• New card holders are up 16.5%, with juvenile card holders increasing by 7%. E-book circulation is
up 29%, with overall circulation of all materials up by 3.5% in 2015.
• Program and event attendance topped 100,000 participants in 2015 - a greater than 100% increase
over the previous year. Children’s programming reached nearly 60,000 participants, with over 12,860
of those participating in the Library’s brand-new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts &
Math) activities. Story Time attendance increased 30%. The 2015 Summer Reading Program has
seen record-breaking participation the last two years: an 88% increase in 2015 (over 2014) and a 33%
increase (over 2015) in 2016. Altogether, major community events, increased Storytimes and STEAM
programming resulted in a more than 140% increase in attendance at Library programs and events in
2015. Concert and film series are among the Library’s most long-running programs, attracting people
of all ages to the Canyon Theater.
• The Boulder Small Business Development Center (SBDC) moved in to the Main Library in 2015.
The result? Greater visibility for SBDC, with 58 workshops and 3,420 hours of free, one-on-one
consulting made available to business-minded library patrons in SBDC’s first year.
• BPL regularly partners with Intercambio, a non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of immigrants,
to connect more people with Boulder Reads, our adult literacy program. A stepping stone to dignity,
better jobs, and citizenship, in 2015 Boulder Reads experienced a 10% increase in program
attendance, total number of volunteers and total number of volunteers hours donated.
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• Boulder attained international prominence on the cultural scene by hosting the Jaipur Literature
Festival (JLF) on the Main library campus in September 2015 and 2016. This American adjunct to
the world’s largest free literature festival in Jaipur, India brought an estimated 10,000-15,000 people
to the Library for a full weekend of events - with a remarkable array of local, national, and
international authors and musicians. BPL is working closely with Festival organizers to establish
Boulder as JLF’s American home.
• BLDG 61 (BPL’s Maker Space) is an amazing community success story. Our goal is to inspire and
grow learners who want to build, create, enhance and change the environment they live in. The
library converted an unused storage and old facility workshop into a state of the art makerspace that is
free and open to the community. In our first 8 months we have provided more than 250 programs &
workshops, more than 20 outreach events and reached more than 16,000 participants. BLDG 61 has
the potential to be an incubator for transforming the way our community experiences the library.
Instead of coming in to simply check out books, they are coming together to learn a 21st century skill,
advance a hobby, develop a new product all in collaboration with library staff and fellow community
members.
• The library’s fabulous success with STEAM programs and BLDG 61’s “Making” is grounded in the
strength of our community programming partners: CU Science Discovery, the Fringe Festival,
CoderDojo, SparkFun, Play-Well Teknologies, Sphero, the Boulder Valley School District
Millennium Lab, Schact Spindle Company, and more.
• BPL is garnering recognition from peers for this outstanding work: BLDG 61 staff were invited to the
Capitol Hill MakerFaire in 2016, and the Colorado Association of Libraries named BPL as
Colorado’s “Library of the Year” for 2016.
The North Wing
Boulder Main Library
StoryTime
Reading Buddies
Community Meeting Space
Library Programs
(STEAM+)
Children’s Library
Fiction collection
Media collection
Check-out
Gallery space
New books
Display space
Community Meeting Space
Library Programs
Library staff offices
Staff offices
Public computers
Public reading and work areas
Study rooms
Public work area
Library programs
Non-fiction collection
Periodicals collection
Teen Space
Boulder Reads
Arts & Culture office
Library staff offices
Collections
development
BLDG 61
SBDC
Staff meeting
Library programs
212 seat auditorium
Gallery space
Japanese Courtyard
Outside seating
Gardening and
pollinator programs
Channel 8
Seeds Library Cafe
Regulatory agencies
REGULATORY AGENCIES
City of Boulder Landmarks Board and Design Review Committee
City of Boulder Planning and Development
Zoning (setbacks, height limits)
Energy compliance (30% better than IECC 2012)
IBC International Building Code 2012
Flood and adopted maps
Civic Area Master Plan
FEMA
Technical documents regarding floodplain development
Boulder Design Advisory Board
Excerpts from Historical Survey 2016
•Boulder Public Library North Wing built in 1961, James Hunter architect
•Bridge and South addition built in 1974, James Hunter architect
Though integrity of the exterior is mostly preserved, the front elevation’s
appearance has been altered by the relocation and projection of the main
entrance.
•The interior has been extensively altered and there is little left of the
modernist rooms and details.
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Attachment D: September 30th, 2016 Memo to the Planning Commission about the
Resurvey the North Wing
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Attachment E: 2011 Federal Emergency Management Agency Press Release
addressing historically designated buildings
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