Washington, DC– Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced that $100,000 is included in the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bill for the planning and design of a new, LEED-compliant Central Library in Burbank. The bill still has several more legislative hurdles to clear, but inclusion of the funding in the measure is a very positive step.

“Burbank’s current Central Library no longer has the capacity needed to accommodate the increase in circulation and customers,” Rep. Schiff said. “Funding for this project will improve the quality of life for the entire community by expanding access to the much-needed public services that the library provides.”

According to Burbank Library Services Director Sharon Cohen, use of the Burbank Public Library system is up 83 percent since 2002, and continues to grow by leaps and bounds. At the Central Library, usage is up 7 percent and circulation jumped to 1.5 million last year.

“The City is very pleased and grateful to Congressman Schiff for fighting to secure funding to kickoff the planning and design of our new library,” said Burbank Mayor Anja Reinke. “In these tough economic times, we especially appreciate any help we can get to improve public services and outreach. We look forward to receiving the funding, which will provide work for local consulting firms in the short term and long-term benefits to everyone who uses our library, from the very youngest to the very oldest members of our community.”

Preliminary construction cost estimates for the new building total about $53 million. The project would provide work for geotechnical, surveying, architectural, and engineering professionals, followed by one to two years of employment by construction and construction management teams.