Visit Southwest Branch

2039 W  4000 S, ROY UT 84067

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Route 640 - Layton Hills Mall / WSU Ogden Campus

OVERVIEW

The new Southwest Branch Library opened February 29, 2016, on a 7.25-acre site donated by Roy City.  The new Library was designed to serve area residents as a third place community-learning platform for knowledge creation and sharing.  It was built to a LEED gold standard that was called out in a five-year capital plan.  Voters in Weber  County’s first vote-by-mail election approved the capital plan.  The 73,000 square foot facility also houses the Library Headquarters, including Administrative offices and the Support Services Division – property management services, technical services, information technology services, and production services – as well as storage and maintenance facilities. 

The Southwest Branch is home to the Library System’s second largest collection of print and non-print materials and has ample space for community gathering and Library sponsored programs.  Special features include an outdoor amphitheater and commons, a blackbox theatre, classrooms, activity centers, and commercial kitchen, all of which are available free to not-for-profit groups, and for a rental fee to others.  The Branch also hosts art exhibits in a specially designed gallery and exhibit space.  Unique areas for children, preteens, teens, and adults feature age appropriate learning collections and digital access to learning software and the World Wide Web.   

The Southwest Branch/Headquarters Library, designed by Prescott Muir Architects and built by R&O Construction, is the recipient of several awards, including:

• American Institute of Architects’ – Mountain Region, “Merit Award,” 2016
• American Institute of Architects’ – Utah Chapter “Honor Award,” 2016
• American Institute of Steel Construction, “Ideas2 Award,” 2017

The original Southwest Branch, located at 1950 W 4800 S, was built in phases, all of which were outgrown almost as soon as they opened to the public. 

Phase I of the original building was dedicated on Sunday, February 1, 1976, as the first branch constructed in the new Weber County Library System.  This 5,500 square foot facility was also built on land originally donated by Roy City.  The $189,892 in construction costs came from a $79,000 Federal grant matched by Weber County, and a $35,000 Bicentennial Grant.

The first phase was remodeled during 1983 using $30,000 Federal Emergency Jobs Grant.  The remodeling expanded the circulation center into what was formerly the children’s area and changed the interior decor from a vivid orange to more subtle earth tones.  In 1987, a 5,550 square foot phase II addition was constructed, consisting of a children’s wing, auditorium, and other public meeting rooms. 

Two Community Development Block Grants facilitated improved access to the building.  The first, in 1986, was used to automate the entrance doors; the second, in 2000, was used to remodel the circulation desk and make way for automated checkout units.  During 1997 and 1998, the Southwest Branch was completely renovated; restrooms were replaced, slat wall display areas were installed, and the building was wired for electronic access. 

By the year 2010, the Branch was so undersized, and building support systems and infrastructure were so antiquated, that it struggled to provide access to basic services for the 65,300 people in its service area.  The site was not large enough to allow another phased addition, nor was it constructed in a manner that would allow provision of 21st century library services. This building was closed January 15, 2016, and turned over to Roy City in exchange for the new building site.