Project Dorothy Bramlage Public Library

In 1905 a local businessman named George Smith donated his estate to the cause of a public library in Junction City. His donation led to the construction of a downtown building which opened in 1908. By the mid 1970’s Junction City had grown, and a new library was needed to serve the expanded population. This led to the construction of the current Dorothy Bramlage Public Library which was made possible in large part by a generous donation from the Bramlage family. This existing facility was originally designed to be larger than the facility ultimately constructed and today the library faces space needs challenges.

This design concept is the culmination of a needs assessment, public planning process, and building programming process conducted over multiple years in partnership with library leadership and staff. It imagines building a new, high-quality library building with space for growth and community focused programs.

Quality
The library plays a critical role in the civic life of the community. This role, and its relationship to that one basic human attribute – intelligence – makes it imperative that the building be a work of quality architecture.

Space for Growth
Space is provided to immediately double the existing library size on the ground floor. The second floor has been designed for tenant lease space and future library expansion. The layout is flexible and adaptable to library needs.

Programs
Each of the two floors is 29,000 square feet in area. Program spaces include a primary 10,000 sf stack, circulation, and lounge space, small meeting rooms, a 1,100 sf computer lab, a 600 sf quiet reading room, a 600 sf maker/project space, an 800 sf teen room, two 400 sf mid-sized meeting rooms, and one large 1,500 sf community meeting room. A large 4,000 sf young person’s area is also included. 3,000 sf is allocated for administration and processing.