Lexington Public Library, Northside and Village Branches

Northside Branch Library
The Northside Branch Library is approximately 28,000 sf and serves as the area library for Lexington’s Northside neighborhood. Northside is an established community with a diverse population. The building has self-serve check out, self serve book return/processing, a computer lab, a digital training lab, a radio station, and the library system’s cable station. The public spaces feature a cafe’, quiet reading room, young adult/teen space, children’s area with program room, and areas of flexible shelving (on wheels). The project was designed with public input, gathered by the Library/VITETTA during a series of community meetings held at the existing Northside Branch Library. VITETTA associated with OMNI Architects in Lexington as the Architect of Record and CMTA as the Engineer of Record. The library circulation has more than doubled since the new library opened in September 2008.

Village Branch Library
The Carter Barnhart Architects/VITETTA team designed the 4,000 Square Foot Village Branch Library in 2004, which is the conversion of a former Auto Zone auto parts store in a strip shopping center, into one the Lexington’s highest circulating and best used libraries. The EOP Architects/VITETTA team subsquently designed the Library expansion which was completed and opened in October 2008. The expanded Library is approximately 8,000 Square Feet and offers an expanded computer center, a new Young Adult/Teen Area, new study areas, new ESL/tutor spaces, expanded staff workroom and a larger meeting room. The expansion carefully connects a former pawn shop with the existing Library, surrounding a Beauty Shop that fronts the parking lot. The mall was originally constructed on a slope with each outlet on a slightly different level. The expansion includes a link with new public toilets and a ramp that connects the two levels of the interior.