Henrico County dedicated its second new, fully loaded library in less than a year with the July grand opening of Twin Hickory Area Library.
Last fall, the Tuckahoe Area Library opened its doors. The library at 5001 Twin Hickory Road is an information showcase. The $13.4 million facility spans 40,000 square feet and has an inventory of 120,000 volumes. It replaces the now-closed Innsbrook library, which had 5,000 square feet and 60,000 volumes.
“It’s really incredible,” said Ahmed Tabib, Twin Hickory’s library manager. “You won’t find too many counties, cities, municipalities that will open two libraries less than a year apart. And these are state-of-the-art, beautiful and very functional libraries. It just tells you that Henrico County is dedicated to education.”
The Frank Lloyd Wright–style building has a brown flagstone façade and large windows. There are more than 100 computers and ample space for small group meetings and for readers of all ages.
Tabib said that the recently formed Twin Hickory Library Friends plans to enhance the library with quality cultural programs of its own. For example, the group wants to bring the Richmond Ballet and Richmond Symphony to the library.
“Twin Hickory offers us so many opportunities to augment our own offerings with outside opportunities,” Tabib said.
Perhaps the most popular section of the library is the children’s area, which features an ocean motif and even portholes for kids to wiggle through. “Everything from the furniture to the design was built with the children in mind,” Tabib said. “It’s really inviting and it’s my favorite area of the library.”
During the dedication ceremony attended by 3,000, Tabib kept hearing children exclaiming, “This is awesome!” And they asked their parents, “Can we come back tomorrow?”
The national architectural firm PSA-Dewberry designed the library with Denelle Wrightson as lead architect and interior designer. Wrightson estimates she’s worked on 150 library projects, including Tuckahoe.
Henrico County residents passed a bond referendum in 2000 to build Twin Hickory. The role of county voters was praised by several speakers at the dedication ceremony.
“Henrico County citizens wanted a new library in their community and that shows their commitment to education,” Tabib said. “I think it’s great that the county and its
residents have the same mission.”
For more information about County libraries, visit www.co.henrico.va.us/library.
