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Architects: Van Tine|Guthrie Studio
Construction Manager: O’Neal Construction, Inc.
Landscape Architects: Grissim Metz Andriese Associates

The Traverwood Branch Library is situated on 4.34 acres located in the southwest corner of Traverwood Drive and Huron Parkway in Ann Arbor. The Branch is a one-story building of approximately 16,500 square feet which will replace the current Northeast Branch of AADL, located in Plymouth Mall. It is currently under construction and scheduled to open in June 2008.

The Traverwood Branch will serve as a community-based learning center that delivers superior customer service, primarily to the residents of the northeast quadrant of Ann Arbor. While its mission is to deliver traditional library services, the facility will also include a casual study area with seating for 14 and vending, a laptop computer bar with seating for nine, and a meeting room with seating for 90.

The Branch will house an updated collection, consisting of traditional materials, such as books, magazines, and DVDs, as well as new formats as they are introduced. The facility will contain a reading room for comfortable, leisurely reading, four study and tutor rooms, and self-service stations for convenient checkout. Electronic resources will include 24 public computer terminals, 20 of which will be located in an Electronic Training classroom, and wireless internet access.

Traverwood Branch is designed to have as little impact on natural landscape features as possible. Sustainable design features include an innovative stormwater management system and the reuse of harvested ash trees from the building site. A rain garden will be located on the south side of the building. The design of the Branch takes advantage of natural day lighting.

Both the building and the surrounding landscape will capitalize on environmental principles, thereby allowing the overall project to operate more in harmony with the ecosystem and the community in which it serves.

The Library Branch Expansion Project

The vision of branch libraries for the Ann Arbor Library system began with former Library Director Homer Chance. Recognizing the need for access to materials and facilities beyond the Downtown Library, Chance opened the first branch library in Ann Arbor - the Loving Branch - in 1965. In 1977 the West Branch opened its doors and the Northeast Branch began serving the community in 1981.

In 1997, with a goal of providing superior public library services into the future, the Library embarked on a Facilities Need Analysis of the library system by consultant David Smith. His study found the three branch libraries severely lacking in square footage to meet current and future public needs.

Using data gathered in surveys, on-site interviews, and estimates of projected material collection sizes in the year 2020, Smith’s study called for the construction of several larger branch libraries to serve the long-term community needs. These would accommodate projected collection sizes and provide adequate meeting, event, storytime and teen spaces, as well as areas for growing technology and staff work areas.

Since 1997, the Library has been working toward the goal of creating these larger, more functional branches constructed within the Library’s current authorized millage.

• In January 2004, the 14,000 square foot Malletts Creek Branch opened its doors on Eisenhower Parkway in Ann Arbor. This replacement for the 39-year-old Loving Branch features expanded program areas seating 80 people, a collection of over 47,000 items, a vending area with seats for 20 people and state-of-the-art technology, including 28 computer terminals and a computer training center. Since the opening of the Malletts Creek Branch, circulation and program attendance figures have skyrocketed and are a dramatic increase over those of the former Loving Branch.
• In March 2006, the 14,600 square foot Pittsfield Branch of the Ann Arbor District Library was opened on Oak Valley Drive. This facility houses a program/meeting room which seats up to 100 individuals, a reading room, study areas and state-of-the-art technology. As a new new addition to the Ann Arbor District Library branch system, the Pittsfield Branch serves an ever-expanding population in a growing area of the Ann Arbor district.
• The new branch on Traverwood Drive and Huron Parkway is the third step in the Library Branch Expansion Project.

Northeast Branch

The Northeast Branch has been situated in the same location in the Plymouth Road Mall for approximately twenty-four years. During that time, in an effort to keep pace with the demand for services, the original space expanded twice and underwent a complete renovation in 2001. New carpeting, improved lighting, a renovated program and storytime room were added in an effort to make cosmetic changes until a site for a new branch could be located. Despite these past expansions and renovations, the Northeast Branch is lacking in the space and service considerations outlined by David Smith’s 1997 study.

Traverwood Branch Image Gallery

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