OAKLEAF — Oakleaf residents were called to help discuss and shape the future of the new Oakleaf Library during a community workshop on Jan. 29.

And despite the chilling cold weather, many put on their coats, scarves and gloves to answer.

The county hosted its second installment of the workshop series on Thursday evening at Plantation Oaks Athletic Center. The interactive sessions are dedicated to sharing what members of the community think the future library should include.

The workshops also simultaneously help the project team understand the community's needs and wants more fluently.

"We want to make sure we're delivering a product that best serves this community," said Clay County Project Manager Craig Singleton.

The long-awaited library is set to be located near Oakleaf Village Elementary at the end of Plantation Oaks Boulevard. Since early last year, the project has been moving forward, with the county approving a $750,000 grant from the State of Florida Department of State in February, helping to begin the design phase.

Fleischman and Garcia will be overseeing the project's design, while E. Vaughan Rivers will handle construction.

An award-winning local firm with 53 years of design experience, Fleischman and Garcia have also worked on two other similar projects — the Wesley Chapel Public Library and the Riverview Public Library.

Using visioning boards and priority-setting exercises, attendees were given various concepts to scope out.  While last October's workshop asked attendees to scope out concepts to be incorporated inside the library, such as technology, outdoor spaces and art displays, Thursday evening's event delved into floor plans.

During the interactive session, attendees were asked to look at the plans, and place stickers on the places they would see themselves frequenting, as well as draw a path to highlight their typical journey to the library.

President and Director of Design Marcel Maslowski spoke on how the design team is looking to incorporate flexibility, creativity and comfort within the layout.

"Using natural materials, the right amount of daylight in the space, and maybe a reading porch where you have this indoor, outdoor connection," he said.

Concepts for the floor plan include adult and children's areas, outdoor seating, a multi-purpose room, a large meeting room, multiple study rooms, social spaces and a teen room. Art walls are also a possibility, showcasing the works of local artists. 

The large meeting room will also be used as a voting precinct. Both the meeting and multipurpose room, Singleton said, will also have separate entrances for after-hours use.

"We're making sure that we have spaces for people to connect and [for] the community to come together."

And, despite contrary beliefs by some, District 2 Commissioner Alexandra Compere said the library will be full of reading material.

"Even though there were some conversations about whether the books were necessary because we have some gaps we're filling in the Oakleaf area, it's a library. It's a library and we don't want to get too far away from that focus," she said.

She also urged attendees to attend the Board of County Commissioner meetings during the next few months and express their excitement for the project.

"I'm going to need your help to convey the need that this library is going to meet," Compere said.