Prov Public Library Receives $750K Grant from Champlin Foundation to Support Renovations

Prov Public Library Receives $750K Grant from Champlin Foundation to Support Renovations

The Providence Public Library has received a $750,000 grant from the Champlin Foundation to support its $25 million THINK AGAIN building renovation.

The renovation began in September of 2018 and is slated to conclude in January of 2020.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have the Champlin Foundation’s continued, generous support for this significant renovation. This construction project is integral to ensuring that PPL can continue to meet our patrons’ needs effectively and serve as a primary community hub of learning, self-development, and personal empowerment in the center of downtown Providence well into the 21st century,” said Jack Martin, PPL Executive Director.

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This grant brings the Champlin Foundation’s total support for the Library’s renovation project to $1,250,000.

To date, the Library has confirmed pledges, grants, and individual donations to the THINK AGAIN campaign totaling nearly $4 million.

The Renovation Project

The 83,000 square-foot project will transform the Library’s 1950s wing -- which was last renovated in the 1980s -- auditorium, Special Collections suite and other areas to provide 21st-century library services for Providence and Rhode Island residents.

Some of the other changes and additions planned include:

• A makerspace and workshop will be located on the ground level that will also serve as the new home for our technology classes, English as Second Language classes, the Learning Lounge, and workforce development programs. This space will be flexible in style so that both the Library and community groups may utilize it for different purposes.
• New Atrium and Open Stairs: This will assist greatly with way-finding, combined information services desk, and line of sight to restrooms and collections.
• Children’s Discovery Library and Children’s Collections: These will now be in a combined, larger space with private family restrooms and technology space.
• Flex Space/Reading Rooms: Larger, brighter, comfortable learning spaces and reading rooms, with flexible fixtures and furniture that can easily be converted into smaller/larger meeting spaces to host classes, events, and programming.
• Teen Space: Teens will now have their own designated space in the Library on the mezzanine, allowing more sight in and out of the area. This space will house young adult collections, space for teen programming, technology, and work areas.
• Special Collections: These invaluable treasures will be relocated into a space with an updated HVAC system and will include a supervised, protected designated reading room.
• Updated Auditorium: Completely updated 250-seat auditorium will be fully accessible.
• 1950’s Building Window Enhancements: Ground and second-floor window cuts will be lengthened to improve visual access into and out of the building, and a new west-facing window will bring more natural light to the upper floor public spaces and give views of the historic 1900 Building façade.