It’s time to let the public check out some ideas for Lawrence Public Library improvements, including plans for a new location.

A library task force that’s been studying options is planning a public meeting next week to share potential plans, including ideas about partnering with the city’s transit system and a look at some possible locations for a new, expanded library.

“We want to talk about the process and hear the public’s perceptions,” said library director Bruce Flanders.

Information will be available outside the meeting, too, through a new library Web site to be unveiled Monday. Still under construction, the Web site will explain the needs for a new library and present general plan options. An online survey will allow readers to present their views.

Other topics will be about funding structures and discussions, including photos of libraries in other towns similar in size to Lawrence.

During a meeting Wednesday of the library’s New Direction Task Force, plans also were presented for an April 28-29 library design summit. It will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the library’s auditorium.

Task force member John Gaunt, dean of Kansas University’s School of Architecture, said teams would study the pros and cons of possible library sites and discuss site and building criteria. Some of the discussions, particularly at the end of the second day, will be detailed and intensive, he said.

“The point of this to present a whole range of design examples,” Gaunt said.

Since it was organized a few months ago, the task force has assigned committees to study aspects of designing and planning a new library.

One of the committees looked at various services and partnerships the library could provide, including the possibility of partnering with the T.

Discussions with city transit officials about a library including space for the transit system were positive, said committee member Jim Minges, who also is director of the Northeast Kansas Library System. The two entities could share a parking garage, and transit would have funds available for a feasibility study of the idea, Minges said.

“We think they would bring a lot to this,” he said.

Other possible partnerships include sharing a facility with the Lawrence Senior Center or a conference center, Minges said.

Proposed library services include a concierge-style help desk near the library entrance, more prominent self-checkout kiosks and service phones to call for assistance from library staff.

Plans for a new library as well as its costs have not been completed, nor are they ready for presentation to the Lawrence City Commission. Last year’s proposal to use space in the former Riverfront Mall once used by Sprint has not been ruled out, Flanders said.