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NPL Facilities Master Plan

Nashville's population is projected to reach nearly 847,000 by the year 2040. We can’t wait to welcome future Nashvillians into our library community. These new neighbors will join Nashvillians from across the U.S. and the world.

To keep pace with Music City’s booming population growth and blossoming neighborhood diversity, we’ve designed a roadmap called the NPL Facilities Master Plan. It’s our strategy for building and maintaining world-class facilities across Davidson County through the year 2040.

About the Master Plan

The Facilities Master Plan identifies under-served areas where easy, close access to a library location should be strengthened. The plan divides service areas into 4 quadrants:

  • Central Quadrant: East Nashville, North Nashville, South Nashville and Downtown
  • East Quadrant: Madison, Donelson-Hermitage-Old Hickory, Antioch, Southeast Nashville
  • Northwest Quadrant: Joelton, Parkwood-Union Hill, Bordeaux-Whites Creek
  • Southwest Quadrant: Bellevue, West Nashville, Green Hills-Midtown

For each quadrant, the plan:

  • Prioritizes these “library coverage gaps” for future building projects so that at least 90 percent of Davidson County residents will be able to reach a library location within three miles (or a 15-minute commute).
  • Recommends an action item, with schedule and budget, for every facility.
  • Is closely aligned to the NashvilleNext plan, which is the city’s overall roadmap for projected growth.

Central Quadrant

Encompasses: East Nashville, North Nashville, South Nashville and Downtown neighborhoods

This is where most of Nashville’s oldest neighborhoods exist. Eight of NPL’s 17 branches (plus the Main Library) are found in this quadrant. All eight branch locations are 20 years old or older, and none of them are bigger than 12,000 square feet. This quadrant is a top priority for NPL, since many patrons and residents here live in digital and transportation divides.

Recommendations for the Central Quadrant:

  • Build a new facility in a current “library blank spot” near the intersection of Dickerson Pike and Trinity Lane.
  • Build new, larger libraries for Hadley Park, Inglewood, Thompson Lane and Watkins Park.

East Quadrant

Encompasses: Madison, Donelson-Hermitage-Old Hickory, Antioch and Southeast Nashville

With a combined population in excess of 300,000, nearly half of Davidson County’s residents call this eastern part of Davidson County home. This quadrant is the center of the expanding immigrant population, including large Somalian, Kurdish, Iraqi, and Central American communities.

Recommendations for the East Quadrant:

  • Replace Donelson Branch with a modern, 25,000+-square foot branch. This is currently NPL’s top priority.
  • Build a new branch near the intersection of Murfreesboro Pike and Briley Parkway, in one of the largest coverage gaps in our library system
  • Build a new branch near the intersection of Nolensville Pike and Harding Place, in another one of NPL’s largest coverage gaps.
  • Build a new branch near the intersection of Smith Springs Pike and Anderson Road.
  • Build a new branch near the Crieve Hall area, should population growth occur in this area.

Southwest Quadrant

Encompasses: Bellevue, West Nashville and Green Hills-Midtown neighborhoods

Patrons in this quadrant tend to have more mobility/access to transportation. Bellevue, Green Hills, and Richland Park branches are all among the top 10 NPL locations for patron checkout/borrowing activity. This area is under-served by NPL in terms of library space per capita. Richland Park and Edgehill branches were built in the 1960s and are now too small for our patrons’ needs.

Recommendations for the Southwest Quadrant:

  • Expand or replace Richland Park branch with a 25,000-square foot space.
  • Expand the Edgehill branch.
  • Build a new facility near the intersection of Charlotte Pike and Hillwood Avenue