Not only do the old structures take on fresher, more inspiring looks, but with the help of Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects, these Libraries have become the community hubs they were intended to be.
Kathleen O’Connell doesn’t hold back when she describes the former state of the Washington County Free Library system in Maryland.
“These were some of the worst facilities I’d ever seen,” she says, with a cringe. “The communities just didn’t have the resources to support the continued maintenance of the buildings, and it showed.”
Hancock Community Library had flooded three times, and instead of demolishing it and starting with something fresh, the building was simply drug up the hill and out of the flood area.
O’Connell, Assistant Director with the library system, was one of several who worked with library patrons and the surrounding neighborhoods to find out what they wanted to see in a future Hancock Library. In 2014, the library system called on Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects to perform a concept study for a new library. Several years later, the new building opened during fall 2018.
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“There’s no comparison for what the library offers the community today,” she adds.
She’s not the only one who thinks so. The American Institute of Architects’ Baltimore chapter recognized the Hancock Library project with a 2020 Design Award.
“It’s hard to explain how the people have just really rallied to that branch and been thrilled with everything we offer,” O’Connell says. “Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects really worked to create exactly what that community needed. It’s a bright spot for that whole area.”
Creating impactful change
Hancock Community Library wasn’t the first facility M&D designed for the Washington County Free Library system. Years prior, the Boonsboro Library was in a former bank building, and in Smithburg, the Library was a former jail. Each facility was replaced with a new free-standing community library structure at easily accessed locations within the two towns.. Doing the new building design meant new wiring and state of the art technology along with new heating/air-conditioning and the building was ADA accessible. It also provided for a beautiful new library with views of the community and considerable natural daylighting within each of those neighborhoods.
“I remember when we unveiled those libraries, and I just can’t tell you what it means to have something so lovely that belongs to your community,” O’Connell says. “It brings a sense of pride. It’s inspiring. The people who go there, whether to pick out books with their children or to attend a community meeting, know they’re part of something.”
The feeling O’Connell describes can been seen in the growth of Hancock Library, which has increased patronage by 30 percent since it opened in 2018. Programming is also up 40 percent.
“We can have such a greater impact in people’s lives,” O’Connell says. “It’s amazing what has happened in these communities.”
Continuing the story
John Taube can remember the list of “wants” that came together when the Allegany County Library System in Maryland was ready to imagine something more inspiring for its South Cumberland Library branch that originally opened in 1982. By the time the library system started working with Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects in 2010, they were ready for a change.
The existing South Cumberland Library didn’t do much to stir the imagination, says Taube, who is the system’s executive director.
Constructed in the early 1980s, the 9,000-square-foot brick Colonial building looked more like a doctor’s office or a bank than a library. The acoustics weren’t ideal, and there was little natural daylight.
South Cumberland is the county library system’s busiest walk-in branch, yet it didn’t feel inviting. So, the Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects team started there.
The renovation/addition work included everything from a new entrance and a completely new layout to a comprehensive interior design makeover – and it left M&D feeling like they’d helped make one rural community a little bit of a better place.
“For a lot of libraries, this kind of a project is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Taube says. “We believe in the community, the power of libraries, and here is a library that is going to stand behind you and inspire you to be all that you can be. The physical building is as important as the materials in it.”
Crafting another script
Shortly after the “re-invented” South Cumberland Library opened in 2017, Allegany County Library System looked at LaVale Library as the next on its list of facilities needing a dose of inspiration.
The original 9,300 square feet of LaVale Library will follow a similar update, with renovations that include: removing some of the dated finish materials, such as interior brick flooring; refreshing the space with new natural wood elements; adding more sustainable carpet materials; and updating the ceiling system to include LED lighting and acoustical systems.
But it’s the nearly 5,000 square feet of new additions that will allow LaVale Library to contribute to its community in new ways. From a community room to a new entrance to a reading room, Taube is excited to see the M&D designs come to life. He looks forward to the building being occupied by 2022.
“The beauty of working with Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects is that this is their specialty,” Taube says. “They have the ability to add the accents and the features that take a standard building and make it look exquisite. I wanted each of these to be spectacular buildings because they are an investment in the community. That means everything to us.”
The memorial’s groundbreaking took place in June, and the dedication is set to take place on November 11, 2024, or Veterans Day.