Today’s library systems face a growing challenge: how to stay relevant amid evolving technologies, shifting demographics, and unpredictable funding. In this landscape, the most resilient master plans don’t point to a single solution. They offer a range of futures.
Rather than prescribing one fixed path forward, a flexible master plan presents a framework of options—each grounded in community input, cost modeling, and design feasibility. It allows decision-makers to start small or go big. To act now and dream forward.
One of the clearest examples of this approach is the Columbus Community Building in Columbus, Nebraska—a shared civic facility that houses the city’s public library, city hall, and children’s museum under one roof.
This wasn’t simply a new library. It was a reimagining of public service at the civic core—a vibrant, modular, and adaptable building that reflects 21st-century library values. The design process offered the City of Columbus multiple paths: renovation, addition, or entirely new construction. The city ultimately selected a transformational option—but only after carefully weighing each scenario alongside its stakeholders.
The result is a facility that includes a business incubator, a family living room, teen spaces, maker labs, and an “Idea Box” for community display—all designed to flex with changing needs and growing programs.
Across our work in Holdrege, Pender, Lincoln, and Central City, Nebraska, we’ve learned that no single solution can—or should—answer every community’s needs.
Instead, we create choice matrices that present phased, scalable investments such as:
Option A: Strategic renovations to extend the life of existing buildings.
Option B: Targeted expansions to meet modern needs.
Option C: Full-scale transformations—new builds or co-located civic hubs.
This method empowers cities to plan across time—adapting to budget realities without compromising vision. Each option is grounded in real data, community feedback, and long-term sustainability.
A flexible master plan helps communities:
In Columbus, the city’s desire for a welcoming civic identity led to the inclusion of a literal “front porch”—a flexible outdoor space that now connects the library, museum, and coffee shop. This simple, powerful gesture grew directly from community visioning, and now serves as a physical symbol of belonging.
We’ve seen, time and again, that the most successful plans are not just for the community—they are with the community. Through stakeholder interviews, pop-up engagements, and collaborative design charrettes, we co-create plans that reflect a community’s identity and aspirations.
Our approach mirrors findings from national research, including Gensler’s “New Model for the Public Library” which underscores the importance of social equity, personalization, and flexible design.
Too often, public projects are presented as binary choices: build or don’t. A flexible master plan disrupts that either/or mindset. It opens space for iteration, for dreaming, for recalibration.
It doesn’t delay decision-making—it enhances it. It invites boldness and responsibility to coexist.
Because when a community is given choices—clear, data-driven, and aligned with its values—it gains more than a building. It gains agency. And that’s the foundation for a truly future-ready library.
Our vision as designers is to transform lives by creating places that contribute to the vitality of communities. We believe in making the world better through design.
If you’re ready to explore how flexible planning can empower your community’s next chapter, we’d be honored to help.