Plans for a new downtown library could leave Renton with a smaller library than the one the city already has.

As the King County Library System moves forward with plans to rebuild Renton’s two libraries, the future of library access in Renton is up for discussion.

Although plans for a new Highlands branch expect to double or triple its current size, after building the two new libraries, it’s possible Renton won’t gain any additional library space, said KCLS Director Bill Ptacek.

“We don’t intend that there would be less library in the City of Renton,” he added.

When KCLS looks at building projects, it considers the service area as a whole, he said.

Right now, Renton and its potential annexation areas have four libraries, including a branch in Skyway, which will soon be remodeled.

The initial plan is to shift space from downtown to the Highlands, Ptacek said. “We’re just trying to balance it up a little bit.”

However, for Renton proper, KCLS’s initial space projections are far less from what was asked for in the 2008 Renton Library Master Plan.

The plan called for an additional 60,000-square-foot library in Renton, pushing for about 82,000 square feet altogether.

The most optimistic estimate from KCLS so far has been about 40,000.

Those estimates could change some as KCLS completes a formal usage and demographic study, Ptacek said.

While KCLS works on its final recommendation, it has given the city a preliminary estimate on how large a new downtown library should be, Ptacek said.

The city is using those estimates, 15,000-20,000 square feet for each building, to locate potential real estate downtown and in the Highlands, said Alex Pietsch, administrator of the City of Renton Department of Community and Economic Development.

The current downtown library over the Cedar River has about 22,400 square feet.

The biggest need for more space is in the Highlands.

Demand on the small library is up 25 percent from last year, Ptacek said.

“KCLS has been surprised by the amount of activity and users that are coming to that branch even today,” Pietsch said.

The city isn’t releasing the locations it’s considering for the two new libraries, but there are about nine of them, said city council member King Parker.

One option under consideration is keeping the current downtown library, which would require several structural and seismic upgrades.

Right now, the bridge-like building can’t safely support tall bookshelves in its center.

The location also has poor visibility, Ptacek said.

“KCLS believes that a more efficient design can serve as many or more people,” Pietsch said.

Most of the downtown locations are somewhere within the downtown core.

Several of those are located around the transit center, including the Spirit of Washington Event Center, Pietsch said.

For the Highlands branch, the city is looking at highly visible locations along Sunset Boulevard Northeast, he said.

A city-planning study mentioned repeatedly using a new library building to establish a larger community place. The report’s top recommendation was in the Sunset Terrace neighborhood, next to the Hilands Shopping Center.

While the city hasn’t decided how to fund the projects, the hope is to do it with existing revenues, Pietsch said.

After Renton annexed to KCLS this year, it’s been assumed that money the city might have spent on the libraries will instead go toward paying off bonds for the building projects, he said.

City administrators are talking fast about the new buildings, hoping to break ground by the end of 2011, he said.

“I’m excited. I can hardly wait,” Parker said.