Lakewood Ranch Library is about to reach new heights

 The launch of the Lakewood Ranch Library in 2024 was such a rousing success that maybe no one noticed the building had a second floor. 

Now, after sitting unused and unfinished for nearly two years, the buildout is expected to be completed by late spring.

“When we started planning and building the Lakewood Ranch Library, (Manatee County commissioners) had the foresight to add that floor,” says Library Services Manager Tammy Parrott. “It would’ve been much harder to add square footage later.”

The second floor, with 25,000 square feet of potential — plumbed but little else — has waited in plain sight for commissioners to finalize plans for the space. “We weren’t sure if it was going to be part library, part something else,” Parrott says. In particular, one idea under consideration was using some of the second-floor space for county offices.

“Thankfully for the Lakewood Ranch Library, the county decided to buy a separate property for that purpose,” says Sue Ann Miller, president of the Friends of the Lakewood Ranch Library. “We’re thrilled the second floor is under construction and will be fully dedicated to the library.” 

Photo by Lori Sax

The second-floor buildout is unfolding in two phases. The first, now underway, focuses on finishing the raw space — installing carpet and HVAC and addressing safety and ADA requirements.

The second phase addresses additional needs of both the library and the community. One component is increased shelving, which will allow part of the collection — likely adult nonfiction — to move upstairs.

More space for books is “sorely needed,” as the first-floor shelves are already quite full, says Parrott. She also has clocked a growing demand for physical books. “We were all very excited about e-books, but now we’re seeing people rebound to print.” In addition to that trend, the pricing structure for digital titles is often several times more expensive. When a library buys a print volume, it can be on the shelves forever. With an e-book, you may be paying for only 12 months, after which the license has to be renegotiated, Parrott says. 

Individual study rooms — long requested by the Lakewood Ranch community — are also in the plans for the space. “The Friends have been advocating from the get-go for small study rooms because that’s what the community wanted,” says Miller. “They can be used for student groups, tutoring, private conversations or business needs.”

Parrott notes the library’s ground floor features two flexible meeting rooms, a conference room “that is always busy” and a quiet reading room that proved popular almost immediately. There is also a robust children’s area, dedicated outdoor space and a reinforced section of roof designed to host a range of events.

As with any construction project, some details remain in flux, cautions Manatee County spokesperson Bill Logan. For example, while both Parrott and Miller cite six study rooms, Logan notes that “the number of study rooms has not been finalized.”

Photo by Lori Sax

Logan says the second floor will also include open space for casual reading and working, as well as flexible areas for tables, chairs, meetings and events. The furniture configuration is still being refined, Logan says, so the exact layout has not yet been finalized.

Furniture decisions are a key reason it’s difficult to pinpoint an opening date beyond late spring. “There are some details we’re still working through with delivery and installation,” says Logan. 

Another factor driving the expansion — both here and elsewhere in Manatee County — is a mandate to increase overall library space by more than 120,000 square feet to meet the Florida Division of Library and Information Services’ standard of 0.6 square feet per 1,000 residents.

Parrott, who is also overseeing the expansion of the Rocky Bluff Library in Ellenton, sees the project as part of a larger shift in how libraries serve communities. 

“Today’s libraries are community hubs. They need more than books,” she says — and the Lakewood Ranch Library is poised to meet those needs. Libraries connect people, provide valuable resources and enrich quality of life, she adds.

“We learn through books,” she says, “but we also learn by engaging with one another.”