The city-led project, which began in 2023, will also displace services at Roy and Helen Hall Memorial Library for a number of months during the construction period, city officials said.
City council members unanimously approved a resolution at a Jan. 21 meeting to allow $30 million in certificates of obligation to be issued to fund both the project at Hall Library, as well as the renovation project at the McKinney Performing Arts Center.
The gist
The library, which has been in operation for more than 20 years, has outgrown its current design, a city news release states. A comprehensive renovation project is aimed at updating the library so it can meet the needs of the community for the next 20 years, the release states.
“Our goal is to create a future-ready library that extends the downtown experience, provides a new everyday destination, and serves as a space for education, inspiration and community connection,” said Spencer Smith, director of the McKinney Public Libraries, in the release.
Staff at the library have worked to optimize the layout of library materials and services building for a number of years. The layout of the two-story building, which has multiple wings branching off of a central lobby, has been challenging for staff members, Smith said.
In mid-2023, city staff contracted architectural 720 Design to create concepts for potential changes to the building. The project was initially considered to be included as part of the 2024 bond package, but was removed and considered to be funded by a different funding source.
The reimagining project aims to establish the library as a community hub while also creating a “future-ready” library with services and areas for multiple generations, Smith said.
“We're not getting rid of Hall [Library], we're not getting rid of the Roy and Helen Hall legacy. We're really just [considering] how we can use the footprint we have and the space we have to reimagine what a library downtown could be,” Smith said.
The library currently accounts for 4% of all visits and visitors to the Historic Core area in East McKinney, Smith said. Hall Library averages between 2,500-3,000 unique borrowers each month. Smith said he expects the library to see an additional 100,000 visits annually post-renovation.
“What we heard a lot ... was ‘We want affordable, family friendly activities [in] downtown,” Smith said.
The specifics
The roughly 33,000-square-foot facility will only grow by 670 square feet in the renovation process, with most changes happening internally to the building. The first floor will see a change in layout, including removal of brick walls and fireplace in the lobby that currently limit sight lines and visibility for staff, Smith said.
The layout change will also assist in consolidating staff areas within the building.
“Currently, staff is spread out throughout this building, and the staff break room and the staff restroom are on the opposite end of the building from where the majority of the staff are,” Smith said.
The lobby will also feature an analog-style split-flap sign board, Smith said, explaining that the sign type will help define the space.
“This is partially because it's different, it's partially to give the idea that the lobby is a transitory space,” he said, citing similar signs used in airports and train stations.
Patrons will be able to access a youth area on the first floor of the building from the lobby, passing through an arched entrance with a curved monitor along the arch. Library staff will be able to customize the visuals depicted on the monitor based on the season and programming within the library.
“Our main goal was to give the impression that you are now in a different place,” Smith said of the archway entrance to the youth area. “You have left the lobby and you are now in a different area.”
The first floor will include a dedicated teen area and The Delaney Room, a public meeting room within the library, will also be relocated and enlarged. A new comfort room that can be used for nursing will also be added near the youth area.
The building’s elevator will also be relocated and a second elevator added, and restrooms within the facility will also be converted to single-user and family restrooms in various locations throughout the building. Sound baffling materials will also be added throughout the building.
Diving in deeper
The second floor will feature a 26-foot, full-dome planetarium, an addition aimed at increasing the library’s educational and entertainment offerings.
The planetarium will be able to hold 55 people with non-fixed seating, and can be used for a wide variety of programming, Smith said. The planetarium will be the only free public planetarium in the area, and that library staff aim for programming in the planetarium to be free to patrons, he said.
Adjacent to the planetarium is a 2,500-square-foot exhibit space that will allow the library to host traveling museum exhibits.
“The planetarium is a giant step forward for the Roy and Helen Hall Memorial Library, making it the first public planetarium in Collin County,” Smith said in the release. “This truly offers a unique educational opportunity. Coupled with the space for rotating and interactive exhibits, we are creating an environment where residents of all ages can engage with learning in new and exciting ways. These additions truly reflect our commitment to innovation and community enrichment.”
The second floor will also include a dedicated quiet wing and the adult book collections, including the library’s local history section. Additional study rooms will be added, bringing the library’s total to nine study rooms, and seating will be increased throughout.
“We have found that [computer labs are] a bit of an outdated concept and that the number of people who use our Wi-Fi is much, much larger than the number of people who use our [computers],” Smith said.
The system will allow library cardholders to check out a laptop for use within the library, which Smith said allows patrons more flexibility on where they use the computer.
“If they've got a four-year old that needs to be in the kids area, they can check out their laptop and go do their work where their kid is instead of trying to make their kids sit still next to them on a PC,” Smith said.
Quote of note
“Our goal is when we're done and they walk in, that their jaws drop and they say, ‘Oh, that's where my tax money went,’ and they mean it in a very positive way,” Smith said of community members. “We see thousands of people a month, and for a lot of them, we're the only interaction with any city government official ... We have the opportunity to showcase a positive return on their tax investment.”
The impact
During the roughly year-long closure of the library to accommodate construction, Smith said library services will be impacted.
Library staff are working to see if potential programming and pickup of books on hold could be housed at the new McKinney City Hall, Smith said. He also said the library’s outreach coordinator is considering hosting library pop-up events at local schools.
Staff at the library will also be displaced and operating out of John and Judy Gay Library during the renovation period, he said.
Smith said the library, which often sees homeless community members spend their days in the facility, has also been working with the Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness to prepare for the impact the closure will have on the community.
“We offer library services, and the fact that we're open to the public if they want to take advantage of it, and that's great, we'll treat them with the respect and courtesy that we treat everyone, whether they're homeless or not, doesn't matter to us,” Smith said. “The flip side is the library can't also figure out how to start up the first homeless shelter in Collin County because we're closing down.”
Looking ahead
The project is expected to begin construction in May, according to a presentation at the Jan. 21 meeting. The reimagined library is slated to reopen in summer 2026.
For more information on the project, visit www.mckinneytexas.org/818/roy-helen-hall-library-reimagining.
