Allison BarnetteLincoln City Libraries will soon have a new $46 million central library, advancing its mission to provide lifelong learning opportunities for a diverse population.
The city of Lincoln, Nebraska, said the new facility will be a 21st-century space that includes modern conveniences like gathering spaces and a coffee shop as well as technological advances like digital labs and a makerspace. For those looking for a traditional library setting, there will still be a quiet reading room and a rooftop auditorium.
Ample parking is also planned for the property, with a 1,057-space parking garage and skywalk connections into the downtown area.
Funding for the new library comes from $23 million in municipal infrastructure bonds, $5.2 million in interfund loans and $18 million in private contributions. A third of the private contributions have already been committed. With no vote needed and no new taxes to be levied, the project can move along quickly. After a summer of citizen input and city government approval of plans, bids will go out and construction could begin as early as fall 2026.
A little serendipity played a part in that the space for the library is an existing structure—the Education Square building of Southeast Community College. The school announced its intention to sell the building at the time Lincoln City Libraries was in the planning stages. By buying and rehabilitating the existing 80,000-square-foot building, rather than developing from the ground up, construction costs are reduced by nearly 35%. The $46 million price tag is also substantially less than attempting to renovate the current central library, the Bennett Martin Library, built in the 1960s.
The outlook for the Bennett Martin Library is uncertain. Since it already houses some unique collections, there are many possibilities for its future.
Rendering Courtesy Lincoln City Libraries
