City Breaks Ground on State-of-the-Art Slover Library

Overshadowed by a busy week dealing with Waterside, some big news was lost in the shuffle. The ceremonial groundbreaking of the Colonel Samuel L. Slover Memorial Library took place downtown last Thursday. Click here for the WVEC coverage of the event.

CC Image courtesy of Norfolk Public Works

According to the Norfolk Public Library's website, 

"Through a generous donation from Frank Batten, Sr., the City of Norfolk will soon build a new downtown library to be called the Colonel Samuel L. Slover Main Library. The new library will be comprised of the historic Seaboard Building on Plume Street, the current location of the interim Norfolk Main Library, and a new structure to be constructed between the current Main Library and Selden Arcade, with the two structures connected by a glass-enclosed courtyard and atrium."



CC Image courtesy of Norfolk Public Works

 The goal of the state-of-the-art building is to achieve national leadership status in modern library facilities and to become one of the region's most popular educational destinations. The library's website describes it as an "information portal, with state-of-the-art technologies to make learning and reading accessible to all ages, in both print and digital formats." The library will also function as a community gathering place, with meeting facilities, special resources for children, and gallery space.

CC Image courtesy of Norfolk Public Works

Construction will begin this summer with a completion date in late 2014.