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Our Approach
Building the Future of Public Libraries
At Aaron Cohen Associates, Ltd., we believe that public libraries are more than just repositories of books — they are vibrant hubs of learning, engagement, and community connection. Our Library Consultant – Public Library Planning and Community Development service is dedicated to helping libraries thrive and reach their full potential. From neighborhood branches to large county-wide systems, we bring the same rigorous analytical discipline to every engagement: understanding how people actually use the space, what services the community needs, and how the physical environment can be shaped to support both.
Our work with public libraries spans strategic planning, space and service planning, and organizational development. We have partnered with systems serving populations from a few thousand residents to millions, and the methodology scales accordingly. Every project begins with listening — to staff, to patrons, and to the community stakeholders who depend on the library as a civic anchor.
Core Capabilities
What We Bring to Public Library Projects
Public library planning requires a synthesis of community analysis, service design, spatial programming, and long-range thinking. Aaron Cohen Associates has developed these capabilities across decades of work with systems of every scale — from single-branch towns to multi-branch metropolitan systems. Each capability below reflects a discipline we apply directly on every public library engagement.
Library Spaces
Project List
Library Consultant – Public Library Planning and Community Development
This is a sample list of the projects Aaron Cohen Associates has worked throughout its years. Additional projects can be sent upon request.
Our public library clients represent a broad cross-section of American communities — urban systems managing dozens of branches, suburban systems navigating rapid population growth, and smaller community libraries seeking to maximize impact within constrained budgets. In every case, the engagement is grounded in the specific context of that community and that institution.
Public Library Clients
The following is a representative sample of public library systems and branches with which Aaron Cohen Associates has worked. These engagements have included space planning, service analysis, strategic planning, community needs assessments, and architectural programming. To request a complete project list, please contact us directly.
What This Work Involves
Planning That Reflects How Communities Actually Use Libraries
Public library planning is not a single service — it is a sequence of interconnected decisions about space, service, staffing, technology, and community role. When Aaron Cohen Associates works with a public library system, we begin by mapping current use patterns against stated community needs. That gap analysis drives every subsequent recommendation, whether the outcome is a building program, a service restructuring, or a long-range strategic plan.
For large systems like the King County Library System or the Chicago Public Library, the challenge is coordination across branches with different populations, different physical constraints, and different service histories. For smaller systems like the Westerly Public Library or the Kimball Public Library, the challenge is often making a compelling case for investment with limited data and limited staff capacity to support a planning process. We have worked effectively in both contexts, and the discipline we bring to each is the same: rigorous observation, honest analysis, and recommendations that are implementable given real-world constraints.
Our space planning methodology and strategic planning framework are described in detail elsewhere on this site. For public libraries specifically, we pay particular attention to the relationship between the physical arrangement of the building and the library's ability to serve diverse populations simultaneously — children and families, students, job seekers, seniors, and researchers all using the same facility at the same time.
Scope of Services
How We Structure Public Library Engagements
No two public library planning projects are identical, but most engagements draw from a consistent set of service areas. The following represent the primary modes of work Aaron Cohen Associates brings to public library clients. Each is grounded in direct observation and data collection rather than generic benchmarking.
Planning in Practice
More Project Experience
Aaron Cohen Associates has worked with library systems across every sector of the profession. The lists below represent additional project experience by library type. Each list reflects the same standard of engagement: direct consultation, on-site analysis, and recommendations grounded in the specific needs of that institution and its community.
To discuss a public library planning engagement or to request a complete project list, please contact us. You can also learn more about our full range of consulting services or explore our consulting portfolio.