This project provides funding for the renovation of the libraries on two of Montgomery College's campuses, specifically the Rockville Macklin Tower Building, and the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Resource Center. An architecture firm has developed conceptual designs for the two campus libraries, and has identified improvements required to support organizational and service changes, and to modernize the libraries. The main library floors will be hubs of academic life at Montgomery College: dynamic spaces that will be student-centered, technology and service-driven, and will foster innovation. The upper floors will provide students with comfortable and quiet study spaces and smaller, curated collections to support their academic and career goals. Additional goals of this project is to meet the variety of student needs including group study, individual study, and silent study.

A part1/part 2 document was completed in FY21 for the Takoma Park/Silver Spring library renovation. Design will start in FY22, construction will begin in FY23, and continue in FY24, with completion in FY24. The Rockville library project design began in FY24, construction is programmed from FY25 through FY27, and FFE is programmed for FY26.

State allowable cost escalation of 4.5 percent has been included in this project.

The Takoma Park/Silver Spring Resource Center was constructed in 1978, and is 45 years old. The Rockville Macklin Tower Building was constructed in 1971 and is 52 years old. These two buildings are outdated, space and service configuration is insufficient, employee workspaces are inadequate to promote collaboration with colleagues, as well as, support student success. In FY16, the Montgomery College Libraries had nearly 670,000 visitors, and ethnographic studies have shown that libraries are one of the places at Montgomery College where students can escape from work and family obligations to get homework and studying done. In addition, Montgomery College's libraries provide students access to technology to be successful in their coursework. In FY16, the Montgomery College library's computers, laptops, and tablets were used approximately 200,000 times by nearly 18,000 unique users. Providing computers, laptops, tablets, software, scanners, internet, and accessible software programs improves college affordability for students who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford those tools. The Montgomery College Libraries increasingly support educational excellence by embedding librarians and information literacy into classes with 7,600 students taught. Other relevant studies and plans include the Libraries Master Plan (2015), Montgomery College Libraries' Ethnographic Studies 2013-2016 (2016), Collegewide Facilities Master Plan (1/24), Libraries Planning Study (6/17), and Libraries Planning Study Germantown Addendum (9/17), and Montgomery College Strategic Plan.

Montgomery College asserts that this project conforms to the requirement of relevant local plans, as required by the Maryland Economic Growth, Resource Protection and Planning Act.