Coming to the Commons
The Next Generation of Public Libraries
Now that 2018 is in full swing, we’re taking a peek at one thing to keep your eye on in the year ahead in each of the five Reimagining the Civic Common’s demonstration cities. We’ve already made a stop in Akron. Check back over the next few weeks as we visit Detroit, Chicago and Philadelphia.
Cossitt Library: Memphis, Tennessee
Cossitt Library has lived many lives. After its doors first opened in 1893, it sat virtually empty for a year because there was no money available to buy books. But over the next few decades it became, perhaps, the best-known landmark in Memphis. By the 1920s, a new addition to the library reflected its increasing popularity. And in 1958, a year after legendary Memphis transplant Elvis Presley laid claim to Graceland, Cossitt razed its oldest sections and expanded into a second building, bringing the library a mix of architectural styles that’s still evident today.
And now the library is ready for its next chapter — undergoing a massive renovation not only inside and out, but also in the way its role is defined within the downtown neighborhood and the citywide communities that surround it. In this new evolution of Cossitt Library — which closed its doors in early January 2018 and is projected to re-open in autumn 2018 — users will find a café, a cultural gathering space, co-working areas and other features designed to allow library visitors to interact and engage. They’ll also discover a facility tailored to reading, studying, meeting, accommodating the after-school crowd, acknowledging the homeless population that often finds its doors and offering social space for the workers and residents who regularly spend time downtown.
“In the 21st century, what does the space need to support?” asks Carol Coletta, a Memphis native and senior fellow at The Kresge Foundation, which is one of the organizations — along with The JPB Foundation, Knight Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation — championing the reinvigoration of civic assets across Memphis’s downtown and riverfront. “Libraries are serving many, many purposes,” she says. “What you’ll see [at Cossitt], ultimately, is a completely reimagined branch library.”
Maria Fuhrmann, City of Memphis grants coordinator and a leading force behind the Cossitt renovation, believes that our notion of what a library is supposed to be is long outdated. “Today’s library is far different than the one I grew up with,” she says. “The library is no longer a quiet, studious place, though the mission of providing free and equitable access to knowledge and information remains. Cossitt will do this by offering welcoming, flexible spaces and offering access to technology and services most individuals may not have, such as performance, dance and recording studio space. Cossitt will also offer art and tech workshops done in collaboration with local professionals so that patrons can learn Photoshop, AutoCAD, photo and video editing, programming, circuitry, robotics and more.”
In this model, a true 21st-century library reasserts itself as an active civic pillar, contributing to the social, informational, educational and economic fabric of the community it serves.
“The library must place an emphasis on creating shared experiences for people of all backgrounds and income,” says Shamichael Hallman, the Fourth Bluff ’s civic engagement coordinator and Cossitt’s branch manager. “This can be achieved through the arts, community conversations or simply designing inviting spaces. But the genesis of this work begins with understanding the uniqueness and diversity of our communities — and building towards a desired end.”
When Cossitt’s renovations are complete later this year, Memphians will discover a library that’s been redesigned and reinvigorated inside and out with them in mind — from a new, welcoming entrance to a large art installation as soon as they step inside to a broad array of spaces designed for socializing, learning, entertaining and simply kicking back with a book. Alongside the library, substantive renovations will take place during 2018 to the Mississippi River Park, Memphis Park and Riverline Trail. This is all part of the Fourth Bluff project, a larger reimagining of the section of downtown that rims the Mississippi River with the aim of creating places that welcome all Memphis residents to come together.
“I hope it really becomes a community gathering space,” says Coletta as she thinks about the new Cossitt that’s coming. And she has plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
Reimagining the Civic Commons is a collaboration between The JPB Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and local partners.
