Some time in 2020, the renovated Martin Luther King Jr. Library will welcome children in with a slide. An in-house coffee shop will provide sustenance for adults. And when seen from above, the rooftop will appear as a patch of green amid the buildings that populate Gallery Place.

The changes coming to the city’s flagship library are neither subtle or random. They are part of a concerted effort to make the Mies van der Rohe building more welcoming, with the needs of 21st century patrons squarely in mind. The designs prioritize comfort, community, and respond to ways that the library is already used—like adding dedicated performance spaces.

The D.C. Public Library system has completed 16 major modernization projects, with another five currently in the works. The stakes at MLK are higher, though, and it has taken a correspondingly longer time to get to this point than at many of the beautifully renovated neighborhood libraries. If all goes according to plan, the flagship will close in the spring of 2017 and re-open in 2020.

For a sense of what is to come, some of the same design elements can be seen in the recently re-opened Woodridge Library, the first completed under D.C. Public Library executive director Richard Reyes-Gavilan.

Whereas the entrance to Woodridge is airy, with a staircase inviting visitors to the upper level, MLK currently has a cloistered feel to it. That will change in the new design, which features a glass-enclosed stairwell in the entrance area.

“In my opinion that’s the most important change that building—eliminating the the brick in the vestibule and putting in a beautiful staircase,” Reyes-Gavilan said.

The Bing Thom-designed Woodridge Library also puts particular emphasis on laptop users with wraparound bar-style seating, families with a playful children’s area, and the outdoor lovers among us, with the system’s first rooftop garden. Those elements all make appearances in newly released renderings of MLK, albeit on a much larger scale.

The rooftop at MLK, for example, will be significantly larger. Patrons will be able to wander throughout the plants and the library is even considering putting in a demonstration garden.

While DCPL has already won several approvals for the project, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved the design today. Starting on November 9, DCPL will hold a series of meetings to share the renderings with patrons, solicit feedback, answer questions, and explain how library services will continue throughout the renovation period.

The library announced earlier this year that downtown patrons will be able to visit an interim facility at 1990 K Street NW, an extremely pared down alternative to MLK. The new space will be just 5,800 square feet, with a small collection of books, a handful of public computers, space for holds and pick-ups, and a room for Adult Literacy and Center for Accessibility services.

Patrons have also been asking what will happen to Washingtoniana and the library’s other research collections, rich troves of local history.

“There’s been a tremendous amount of interest from local history enthusiasts,” Reyes-Gavilan said, adding that he’s received a steady stream of emails from researchers. DCPL plans to make the most requested collections available, working with The Historical Society of Washington and Georgetown Library’s Peabody Room to house them during the closure.

Meanwhile, DCPL will also be working on cataloging and digitizing the collection. “It is a huge organizational effort for us,” Reyes-Gavilan said. But, in the end, they believe the next three years of inconvenience will be well worth it.

Community meetings will be held to discuss the renovation plans on the following dates: