About the Library Project
Howard County Government and its design consultants, Arcadis, are hosting a series of in-person and virtual community meetings from February 27th to March 21st to gather community feedback about how a new, future Howard County Library System (HCLS) Central branch can best benefit Downtown Columbia and all of Howard County. There are five potential sites that will be presented to the public as options, including a site in the Merriweather District, two different sites in the Lakefront district, a site at the Mall in Columbia, and the existing Central Library site.
We want to hear from you! Please fill out our survey here.
Public Engagement Meetings
The in-person community meetings will take place at Howard Community College’s (HCC) Dwight A. Burrill Galleria (“Galleria”) and Monteabaro Recital Hall, located in the Peter & Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center. These meetings are scheduled to take place on:
- Tuesday, February 27th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., In-Person at HCC’s Galleria
- Thursday, March 14th from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., In-Person at HCC’s Monteabaro Recital Hall
- Saturday, March 16th from Noon to 2:00 p.m., In-Person at HCC’s Galleria
- Thursday, March 21st at 6:00 p.m., Virtually. To register to join this virtual meeting, click HERE.
An interpreter for people who are deaf or hard of hearing will be available if requested seven working days prior to the meeting. Please call the Office of Public Information at 410-313-2022 (voice) or use Relay at 7-1-1, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
For questions regarding this public engagement process, please email HCLibrary@arcadis.com
About Arcadis
Arcadis is a leading global design and consultancy organization for natural and built assets. The County previously partnered with Arcadis to act as project manager and develop master plan options for the design and build of the new Howard County Circuit Courthouse, which opened in July 2021.