Stanislaus County and the Friends of the Turlock Public Library are encouraging the community to learn about the plans for a new library building at a public meeting on Thursday.

The meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Turlock Senior Center, 1191 Cahill Ave.

County officials will report on progress of the Turlock Library expansion, and present conceptual plans and renderings designed by WRNS Studio Architects.

“A community vision has transformed into a design that captures the essential services and resources, all within an inspiring space that will meet the informational needs of residents now and into the future,” said County Library Director Diane McDonnell.

The current Turlock Library was built in 1968, for an anticipated population of 30,000. While the city’s population has reached an estimated 72,000, the library has not been able to grow with it. The current library facility has no dedicated meeting rooms or space for library programming, such as children’s Story Times and informational presentations for consumers.

In 2018, the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors passed a funding strategy and approved using a design-build method for the project. The design-build bridging construction method refers to a process that has the owner, in this case the county, contract with an architect to design part of the project. Then it moves to a design-builder that completes the design and sees the project to competition.

The Board approved an estimated project cost of $12.9 million, with $9.7 million allocated to the actual construction.

The goals of the library expansion are to increase services to children, teens and adults; incorporating innovative technology; adding a community meeting space; have a single entrance; and additional storage.

The presented plan would have the library completed in two phases. The first phase would be the construction of a new building on the south end of the library and the second phase would be a remodel of the current building.