Sculpting Spaces How Art, Culture, and Community Are Shaping Truckee's New Library Efforts
By Tiffany Connolly
Rendering of the proposed Truckee Library by JKAE and Group4 Architects.
What does a library look like in a town that values art, culture, and community? The answer is taking shape as the Friends of the Truckee Library LibraryUP campaign gathers community input and works with stakeholders to create a new library that truly belongs to local residents.
LibraryUP, launched in 2019, is working to make the dream of a larger library for Truckee come true. The current space was built in 1975 to accommodate the town's then population of about 2,000. While the Library’s programs are extensive and reach the current service area of approximately 20,000 individuals, the space they inhabit has long since been outgrown.
Earlier this summer, close to 1,500 North Lake Tahoe and Truckee residents responded to a Friends of the Truckee Library community survey. Respondents were a true reflection of the community's makeup. "Pulling information from online survey respondents, we could see that demographics were an exact match with the our community demographics," explained April Cole, LibraryUP's campaign director.
Rendering of the proposed Truckee Library by JKAE and Group4 Architects.
Results revealed a need to integrate arts and cultural programming within the Library’s indoor and outdoor spaces—next to ensuring access to books for all age groups. Other important elements were events to engage our community; programming and play for children; general creating and making; and gaming.
Within weeks of receiving the survey results, the Joint Powers Authority—a governing body made up of representatives from the County of Nevada and the Town of Truckee—placed an art policy discussion on its meeting agenda.. The goal was to brainstorm ideas for how to answer the community's request to prioritize arts and culture in the new space. Various options were presented, including incorporating artistic elements into the interior architectural design, creating space for rotating art exhibits within the building, and setting aside space outside the library for future art installations.
Rendering of the proposed Truckee Library by JKAE and Group4 Architects.
"It will primarily be a library, but we are planning ahead for the integration of the arts so that we're not missing something and having to retroactively create a space for art," April said.
Kellie Cutler from the Nevada County Arts Council was at the meeting and offered insight on planning for art and culture, emphasizing the importance of considering funding needs ahead of time. April remembered her input: "She asked great questions, like 'How are you planning ahead with budgets that will support arts programming? How are you going to actualize this community priority?'"
Core partners that are working hard to realize the new library space—Friends of the Truckee Library, the County of Nevada and the Town of Truckee—are also collaborating with the Truckee Public Arts Commission and an advisory council made up of 25 individuals representing various sectors of the community, including youth, older adults, native Spanish-speakers, and others.
"We've always intended to create a large community meeting space. But now, with arts and culture ranking as one of the community's most important priorities, we're focused on designing a space that offers flexible options," April explained. "We want it to be suitable as a performing arts space, with the right lighting, sound, and flexibility to accommodate diverse types of art and culture."
As the project moves forward, so does its emerging goal: to build a library that serves as a repository of knowledge, a canvas for creativity, and a stage for cultural expression.
To learn more about the new Truckee Library project, visit truckeefol.org.