ORLANDO, Fla. — Libraries in Central Florida are expanding to meet growing demand, with major projects underway in both downtown Orlando and Maitland.
The downtown Orlando Public Library location is getting a $21 million first-floor expansion designed to give families and children more space and services.
At the same time, a new 20,000-square-foot library is being built in Maitland across the street from the current location.
The investments come as libraries across the country face increasing operating costs, tighter budgets and growing expenses for digital materials.
A new children’s library will be part of the downtown Orlando library’s remodeling project.
Steve Powell, CEO and library director for the Orange County Library System, said the project is designed to help attract more families and children to the downtown area.
Powell said that despite increasing costs, many Central Florida libraries continue to thrive.
“The one thing that I can say about Central Florida is libraries are growing here,” Powell said. “Winter Park got a new library five years ago. Maitland’s got a new library on the books.”
Maitland has already broken ground on its new library, which city officials say is needed to accommodate demand.
The new building will replace the current library, which has been in use since 1907.
While Central Florida is investing in new library space, other communities are facing difficult decisions about how to pay for library services.
Many public libraries are dealing with rising operational costs, staff shortages and aging infrastructure.
Altamonte Springs, for example, is considering restructuring its library services as the city looks for ways to reduce costs.
Officials say that it takes 96% of the funds allocated for the city’s library just to keep the doors open.
Another growing expense is digital content. Libraries often license e-books and audiobooks from publishers rather than owning them outright, and those licenses can expire after a certain number of years or checkouts.
Despite that, Powell said digital content has become a major priority for Orange County libraries.
“We circulate two-and-a-half times more digital items than we do physical items,” Powell said.
That growing demand comes with a significant price tag.
“Our materials budget, this year and next year is $8.3 million allocated for each year,” Powell said.
For Central Florida libraries, the challenge is finding the money to keep up with changing demand while continuing to invest in the physical spaces where people use those services.
The Downtown Orlando library renovations are scheduled to begin in September and are expected to take about 18 months.
Construction on the new Maitland library started in April and is expected to be completed by next summer.