McKinney’s Director of Libraries Spencer Smith said the city’s library system has seen a less than 10% decrease in circulation since the closure of Hall Library in June, which is less than the projected impact, he said.
“If you would have told me, ‘Hey, you're going to close down one of your libraries on the east side of town, and you're only going to lose less than 10% of circulation and 10% of user base,’ I would have said there's no way,” Smith said.
The gist
Circulation at Gay Library has totaled nearly 470,000 in the four months following the closure of Hall Library, a more than 22% increase in circulation for the library compared to the same four-month period in the prior year, library data shows.
During the Hall Library renovation, a satellite library was implemented at McKinney City Hall for patrons to collect library materials that have been placed on hold. A fully automated locker system was implemented at City Hall on Dec. 2, Smith said. The collection center has seen some usage, Smith said, contributing to the library system’s overall circulation.
In addition to circulation growth at Gay Library, Smith said the library system has seen an increase in program attendance in some months since the closure of Hall Library.
“People are discovering John and Judy Gay [Library] in the meantime, and I think it's going to lead us to a really, really good start when we open Hall [Library] back up to that we didn't just lose those people, because once you lose them, it's hard to get them back,” he said.
The context
The $20 million renovation project will primarily take place within the walls of the existing library and includes changes to the library’s layout.
The new layout will improve access to materials at the library, and create youth- and teen-specific spaces, the city’s website states, as well as add updated technology and increase public meeting space.
The project will also include the addition of a 26-foot, 55-person, full-dome planetarium paired with an adjacent 2,500-square-foot exhibit space that can host rotating and interactive exhibits. A dedicated space will be added for the library’s local history collection, as well as additional restrooms, two elevators and nine reservable study rooms.
Smith said recent work completed on the project includes:
- Interior framing
- Reclaiming courtyard space as interior space
- Removing an exterior retaining wall and regrading the area
During the closure of Hall Library, staff from that location have transitioned to working at Gay Library. The transition has contributed to collaboration among library staff, Smith said.
“It's allowed us to take some time to look at our procedures and processes with everybody in the room and say, ‘How do we want to improve these?’ now that we have time with the staff here,” he said.
Looking ahead
Hall Library is projected to reopen in October 2026, Smith said.
Library officials will hire a planetarium coordinator and an exhibits coordinator in January to begin planning programming for the library’s new planetarium and exhibit space.
“We need someone who really understands planetarium and kind of the science behind it to really get the maximum value out of that,” Smith said.
Smith also noted that the automated locker system at McKinney City Hall could be relocated following the reopening of Hall Library to accommodate community needs.
“When we're looking at a place to put it, we're going to look at somewhere that has either hours beyond our library or different than our library, so if someone wanted to pick up a book because they're a night shift worker and they want to pick it up at 4 a.m. on their way home, that we'd have somewhere available for them to do that,” Smith said.
For more information on the Hall Library renovation project, visit www.mckinneytexas.org/818/roy-helen-hall-library-renovation.
