A brand new Library has opened in Johnson County, and you’re invited to check it out!
The Monticello Library stands elegantly at 22435 W. 66th Street in Shawnee, KS and is the first new library location in the County since 1994. Design for Monticello Library benefitted from extensive public input and deep analysis of evolving needs for Library services in the 21st century. Scott Sime, project coordinator for the library system, said comments from residents have consistently centered around needs for meeting space, a robust children’s area and availability of diverse technology for public use.
“We haven’t built a brand-new library building since the 1990s, so it’s been a good opportunity for us to really think through what a library of the 21st century can be,” said Sime.
The Clark Enersen Partners of Lincoln, NE are the project architects, and local firm McCownGordon Construction helped bring the building to life. The two-story, 30,000+ square foot building features floor-to-ceiling glass along three sides designed to let in lots of natural light and to be stylishly visible to those driving by on Shawnee Mission Parkway. Total project cost is $18.1 million.
The Library and County identified a site in 2010, and the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System made a generous donation of adjoining land to provide adequate parking.
The building’s interior incorporates flexible spaces and design strategies so it can adapt to future uses and public needs without requiring physical expansion.
The first floor features a dramatic central stair, self-checkout stations, new books and materials as well as a large area for children’s materials and programming. There is lots of cozy seating available along the windows, study rooms, an area for DVDs, magazines and other media and a large meeting room to seat up to 100 people. View a PDF of the floor plan tour here.
The second floor hosts adult fiction and nonfiction areas, teen materials, public computers including Mac workstations, one conference room and several additional study rooms. An ecologically sensitive green roof adjoins a terrace with ample seating.