The ACT government is pushing to increase the diversity of their patrons, part of a new co-design process for territory libraries which will be rolled out across nine branches after a trial at Woden.

City Services Minister Chris Steel said the co-design process was designed to get rich engagement from the community, rather than short, sharp consultation on a pre-prepared plan.

For the next six weeks the government will be reaching out to the community, especially those who currently aren't actively using public libraries.

"We want to specifically target some of those groups that we know have special needs and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people," said Vanessa Little, the executive branch manager of Libraries ACT.

"We're going to go out to them and talk to them in their environment and find out what they would like to see in libraries.

"Get right down into those deep discussions with people and particularly those whose voices might not be heard during the normal processes."

Changes could include implementing more life skill learning opportunities such as cooking and language classes and community events held in libraries.

The Woden library is currently under development and is expected to open in September, including a recording studio, community spaces and quiet study rooms.

"The community really embraced [co-design] and we were not short of ideas," Ms Little said.

This includes expanding people's access to the facilities and reaching past the standard "nine to five" model.

"[Woden library] will have after-hours access for the first time, you will be able to book a community area and use a swipe card to access those dedicated community spaces," Mr Steel said.

Mr Steel said they would be holding workshops at each of the libraries, pop-ups, holding opportunities for people to send in photos online and going out into shopping centres, among other strategies to reach the whole community.

"We're hoping to capture all the people who use libraries and even those who don't use them at the moment. Multicultural communities, people with disabilities and children," Mr Steel said.

Australian Library and Information Association chief executive Sue McKerracher said COVID-19 had changed the way people viewed libraries, and redevelopments should embrace this.

"People are looking at public libraries now as potential co-working spaces, which is something we have talked about at a national level," Ms McKerracher said.

"During the COVID-19 lockdowns one of the things that people have missed is being around other people. You cannot be lonely in a library."

Mr Steel said the ACT government was looking at a future library in the Molonglo combined community centre, which would become the territory's 10th library branch.

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