Dayton Metro Library officials are modifying a system-wide building plan to increase the number of new branches it will construct from six to at least 11, without increasing the $187 million price tag.

“We have examined the plan and made it better,” said Library Director Tim Kambitsch in a presentation to the library board Wednesday. “We can replace – rather than renovate – five more branches for very close to what it would cost to do patch-work refurbishing and still stay within our budget.”

The overall strategy remains the same, consolidate 20 buildings into 16 branches plus a remodeled Main Library in downtown Dayton. Library staff, since passage of the $187 million bond issue in November, has been working with the Dayton Design Collaborative to analyze the structural integrity and future needs of each branch.

Branches getting new buildings, instead of renovated space, will be in suburban communities: New Lebanon, Brookville, Trotwood, Miamisburg and the Northmont Branch in Englewood. Some of the existing branches have undergone multiple expansions and reworking them for future needs wasn’t the best solution, Kambitsch said.