Scenic Regional Library is embarking upon a two-year $12.8 million building plan that will completely replace branch libraries in five communities and significantly expand and renovate two existing facilities.The library district covers Warren, Franklin and Gasconade counties. As part of the proposal, a new branch will be constructed in Wright City and the Warrenton facility will be expanded and renovated.The project list does not include plans for Union and Hermann, which are still in the developmental stage and will be addressed separately. All of the new branches will feature programming rooms, which will also double as community meeting space, and on-site parking. A forum will be held in each community in the coming months to obtain input from the public on the design of the new facilities.Once the entire building project is complete, including Union and Hermann, the library system’s overall size will have increased from less than 42,000 square feet to more than 84,000 square feet.JEMA, St. Louis, and SAPP Design Architecture, Springfield, have been hired for the project. The architectural firms will partner with Cochran, Union, as the project’s civil engineer.The design and engineering work for all seven locations is expected to be completed and approved by the library board by the end of 2016.Phase I of the building project will include Wright City, New Haven and Owensville. The library plans to break ground in early 2017 on the three facilities. The new buildings are expected to be completed by the fall of 2017.• In Wright City, the new branch will be built on a 1.3-acre lot purchased from the Wright City R-II School District in August 2015. The property is located on Wildcat Drive, adjacent to Wright City West Elementary School. Currently, the library does not have a second branch in the county. The new location will be approximately 6,900 square feet and serve as the system’s ninth branch. Wright City received a MoDOT grant in 2015, which will construct sidewalks connecting the new library with the elementary school.• In New Haven, the new branch will be built on a 1.5-acre site located on Douglas Street, past the Boondocker Inn. The property was donated to the library by longtime resident Agnes Meyer in June 2015. The current branch is 1,500 square feet; the new facility will be 4,500 square feet.• In Owensville, the new branch will be built on a 1-acre site on the corner of Highway 19 and Madison Street, across the street from Save-A-Lot. The site, purchased in October 2015, is a portion of the former Owensville Elementary School 3-5 Center property. The current branch is 2,500 square feet; the new facility will be approximately 6,100 square feet.Phase II of the plan will include Warrenton, Sullivan, St. Clair and Pacific. The existing Warrenton and St. Clair branches will be expanded. The library plans to begin construction on the Phase II buildings in early 2018. These new branches are expected to be open by the end of 2018.• In Warrenton, the library will expand the existing building. The addition will increase the size of the branch from 9,000 square feet to approximately 12,000 square feet. The library purchased a 0.5-acre lot adjacent to the branch for additional parking in May 2015.• In Pacific, the new facility will be built on the corner of Rose Lane and Lamar Parkway. The 1.51-acre lot, located across the street from Bristol Manor, was purchased in December 2015. The current branch is 4,100 square feet; the new facility will be approximately 10,000 square feet.• In Sullivan, a new branch will be built on a 1.5-acre lot on Cumberland Way. The site is located in the area behind Walmart, a short distance from Springfield Avenue. The property was purchased in February 2016 from the First Presbyterian Church. The existing branch is 3,000 square feet; the new facility will be approximately 9,800 square feet.• In St Clair, a 0.27-acre vacant lot and a house on an additional 0.173-acre lot were purchased adjacent to the existing St. Clair branch in August 2015. The house will be demolished. The branch will be expanded significantly and additional off-street parking added. The addition will increase the size of the branch from 4,500 square feet to approximately 9,100 square feet.Usage is booming at Scenic Regional Library and the system plans to accommodate the growth with new, larger facilities in every community.In 2015, the system checked out over 488,000 items; this year, checkouts are up 11 percent. The figures don’t even include digital usage, like e-books, e-audiobooks, e-magazines and digital music, which saw another 110,000 checkouts last year. In 2016, digital usage is up 41 percent. In addition, 40,000 adults and children attended the library’s programs in 2015. Library patrons also logged over 70,000 sessions on the system’s public computers (up 6.5 percent) and connected to its Wi-Fi over 8,900 times (up 51 percent). Over 300,000 people visited the library’s branches in 2015.Scenic Regional Library