Bond Committee considers library improvements

The Round Rock Bond Advisory Commission has begun the process of vetting possible projects to be included in a November bond election.

The 13 commission members appointed by the City Council last month, met April 10 at the Round Rock Public Library to consider plans to improve the city's public library system.

Round Rock Library Director Michelle Cervantes presented capital improvement options that ranged from expanding the existing downtown library to building a new main library with separate satellite branches and a bookmobile.

Cervantes said the library is experiencing an increase in customers that outpaces the growth of the city's population. A resident survey conducted by the library, however, found that residents with higher incomes and education are using the library less.

"The results [of the survey] point to opportunities to attract new customers through new services," she said.

Cervantes' recommendation to the commission was to propose a bond that could fund a new, 59,000-square-foot main library building, renovate the existing downtown library into a branch and build a second, 10,000-square-foot branch at a separate location in the city. The total estimated cost of the the projects would be approximately $23.6 million, she said.

Questions considered by commission members included where the new main library would be located and whether it could be the hub of a public campus that could also host recreation and performing arts facilities.

"The northeast quadrant [of Round Rock] is high on the list, but nothing has been decided," Cervantes said.