The St. Charles Parish Library board will consider final plans for a new $9.1 million Hahnville branch May 19, clearing the way for construction to begin later this year.
Library officials first began exploring options for a new Hahnville branch back in 2021 and the property at 15090 River Road was purchased in November of that year.
Lauren Campo-Pitz, assistant director of the library, said library officials are looking forward to a more modern facility to better serve the people who live and work in the parish.
“The current Hahnville location has parking and space limitations, and this new branch will have a better parking lot and more space for everyone,” Pitz said. “The large meeting room, parking lot, and outdoor space will give us the opportunity to host more events – and at a larger scale – on the west bank of the parish.”
Newly released renderings of the library include four study rooms, public-access computers, a meeting room and special areas for adults, children and teens.
“We have looked at what is popular and focused on those areas, namely the study rooms, meeting rooms, and spaces to hold larger library events,” Pitz said. “At our other branches, the study rooms are usually full of people using them for small meetings, tutoring, and studying, so we worked to maximize the number available.”
Pitz said access to a larger meeting room for educational, cultural and informational purposes by groups and individuals is also in demand at other branches. The library also hosts special guests and community events in the library’s meeting rooms throughout the year, especially during the annual summer reading program.
“So, we knew we wanted this branch to have a meeting room that would be large enough to meet the community’s needs,” she said.
The design also features a Louisiana Room, which will include a special collection of materials about Louisiana, with a primary focus on St. Charles Parish history and genealogy. The space will include a workspace for people to spread out research materials, computers and a copy machine. It will also be another space for people to sit and read.
“It also serves as the official repository of all nonlegal records and reports of the parish and houses the parish council agendas and video archives of St. Charles Parish Council meetings,” Pitz said.
The Hahnville branch site is unique within the library system because the levee is located to the rear of the building and most of the land behind the building will be green space, Pitz said.
A covered patio with an entrance facing the levee will provide access to the library from that direction. The new branch will also feature a reading nook overlooking the levee for young readers.
“Promoting early literacy skills in children is a priority of ours, so we’re always thinking of ways to help develop that love of reading in children of all ages,” Pitz said. “Having an area with natural light from a large window looking out toward the levee is one element of providing a comfortable, inviting space for children and their parents to browse books and sit and read together.”
Pitz said once the new branch opens, it will have different hours and will be open on Saturdays, making it more accessible to more people.
“Libraries provide a huge return on the investment that their communities put into them, and the Hahnville Branch is no different,” she said. “We hope that a new library building with these features we’ve described will put us on the radar of people who might not have visited a library in a while.”
The St. Charles Parish library system has six branches. The Hahnville branch has been waiting its turn for a renovation or new construction, Pitz said.
A new makerspace at the West Regional library opened last summer. The St. Rose branch library reopened last March after undergoing building improvements, including new paint, new carpet, and a reconfiguration of shelves. That branch also received new computer furniture and children’s area furniture last year.
Aside from general maintenance and upkeep, no other renovations or construction projects are currently planned.
