Z.J. Loussac Library renovation: expanding functionality for the Anchorage community.

• Author: Anderson, Tasha
• Position: Building Alaska

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The Z.J. Loussac Library in Anchorage is getting a significant facelift: according to Library Director Mary Jo Torgeson, there are multiple goals of the renovation work scheduled to be completed in spring 2017, essentially "to create library that is safe, efficient, and welcoming." The safety issue mostly revolves around the old entry steps and plaza, which Torgeson says were in disrepair and unsafe. Efficiencies will be improved by moving Patron Services and Technical Services to the first floor "so people can more easily find their way around the building and so that materials are moved more efficiently," Torgeson says, as well as by creating a new indoor bookdrop.

She says the estimated cost of the Loussac renovations is $15.5 million, with $15 million of state funds, $250,000 coming from the Anchorage Library Foundation, and $280,000 from the library bequest. Pinnacle Construction, Inc. is the contractor for the project, which was designed by RIM Architects.

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The work being done includes

* An elevator that has access to all four floors (previously elevators did not access all levels), making the Library "more welcoming and accessible," according to Torgeson, as well as allowing the public to use the meeting spaces on the fourth floor even when the Library is closed

* Additional space on the third floor providing access to computers and WiFi; a new glass-enclosed entryway, three stories tall, that will contain an expanded cafe and be "open to the sun and the Chugach Mountains, giving people the opportunity to experience our fabulous surroundings'

* A new pedestrian plaza to replace the "unsafe, crumbling stairs and terrace"

* Renovating what was previously Circulation on the second floor to become "Anchorage's Living Room," an open, flexible space

* A new entrance on the second floor to the Youth Section that will help draw families into an area "designed specifically to help young people build a good foundation of learning"

* Updates to seismic bracing on the first and second floors

* Updates to a thirty-year-old heating/ cooling systems

* Closing off Sharrock Way

Many Improvements

The Loussac Library serves the Anchorage and surrounding communities in a variety of ways, and this renovation allows the library to be able to continue to improve services. Many groups use the library as a meeting space, including government, business, and community organizations. Torgeson explains that, as...