PODCAST, PHOTOS: Expansion of Fayetteville Public Library continues

October 17, 2019 at 1:01 p.m. | Updated October 18, 2019 at 8:50 a.m.

by Greg Harton

Construction of the Fayetteville Public Library expansion goes on outside the south-facing windows of the library looking out toward the Boston Mountains in the distance. The expansion is expected to open in October 2020.
Construction of the Fayetteville Public Library expansion goes on outside the south-facing windows of the library looking out toward the Boston Mountains in the distance. The expansion is expected to open in October 2020.

David Johnson, executive director of the Fayetteville Public Library, is our guest on this episode of “Speaking of Arkansas.”

Johnson details changes at the library as a result of an August 2016 election in which the people of Fayetteville agreed to higher property taxes to fund the expansion and ongoing operating and maintenance of the library.

The project will double the library's size, but it will also launch a new era for delivering more.

The future of the library involves a bigger collection, but also "maker spaces" for audio and video editing, a photography studio, a teaching kitchen, access to 3D printers and other features.

The library also plans to use technology to make some services available on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The library’s website for the expansion and fundraising efforts can be found at https://www.beyondwordsfpl.org

Construction crews work on the expansion of the Fayetteville Public Library on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2019.
Construction crews work on the expansion of the Fayetteville Public Library on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2019.
Construction crews work on the expansion of the Fayetteville Public Library on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2019. The existing library, completed in 2004, can be seen to the right behind the steel beam structures.
Construction crews work on the expansion of the Fayetteville Public Library on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2019. The existing library, completed in 2004, can be seen to the right behind the steel beam structures.
Construction crews work on the steel framework of a new portion of the Fayetteville Public Library, as seen from the library's parking deck on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2019.
Construction crews work on the steel framework of a new portion of the Fayetteville Public Library, as seen from the library's parking deck on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2019.
Construction crews work on the expansion of the Fayetteville Public Library on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2019.
Construction crews work on the expansion of the Fayetteville Public Library on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2019.
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