The New Tufts Library is a 52,000 sqft 21st-century library. The town of Weymouth created a new library charter to meet the needs of the community with a new central library. Tappé recognized that these goals directly corresponded to key components of their own library design process and practice. Together with the town, the project will play a prominent role in the Town’s 400th-anniversary celebration in 2022. The library includes an expanded children’s department, a new local history center, numerous study rooms, a variety of programming areas for different user groups, a comprehensive and scalable technology infrastructure, and a suite of community meeting rooms available for after-hours use. LEED Silver tracking.

Public library design today is about flexibility, with priority placed on elements such as an efficient and cost-effective floor plan, flexible spaces that can be reconfigured and repurposed, and an infrastructure that can expand and adapt. The new Tufts Library incorporates all these elements. Major improvements include:

• An expanded children's services department with programming spaces for multiple age groups
• A suite of community meeting rooms allowing for after-hours use
• Special gathering spaces for juveniles, tweens, and young adults
• A media lab for digital "maker" activities such as audio-visual and computer modeling
• An expanded technology infrastructure of public computers, PACs, and wireless internet
• Open reading areas infused with comfortable seating and outdoor views
• Numerous study rooms equipped with SMART technologies
• A local history center to display and preserve the library's nationally significant collection
• An amphitheater and other outdoor open spaces for performance-based programs and passive recreation

Virtual Library Tour