Libraries aren’t just storehouses of books, movies, and newspapers.
They’re places to meet with friends, council members, lawyers, or others. Take a class. Enjoy a reading. Play with toys. Print a 3-D design. Eat a free meal if eligible. Wait in a safe space for a grownup. Visit a parent under supervision. Hold a corporate meeting or retreat. Host a graduation party, baby shower, or wedding. Even attend housing court.
The Cleveland Public Library is in the midst of a years-long project called “Our Future is Building.” Budgeted at first for $100 million but running about 12% more so far, the project is replacing or renovating all 27 neighborhood branches during this decade, giving them bigger and better space and equipment for a wide range of activities.
In 2019, Bialosky Cleveland developed a master plan for the upgrades. The library has accepted bids for work from different architects and contractors, some of them owned and operated by minorities. The work began two years ago, and each branch will get (or has gotten) a new or renovated building tailored to that neighborhood.
We checked in on the status of the upgrades so far.
Beyond books
“The library should be whatever the community needs it to be,” said John Lang, the library’s chief operating officer. At meetings about the upgrades, “we heard over and over and loud and clear the need for community gathering spaces.”
The typical branch is getting at least four small meeting rooms comfortably fitting four or five people apiece, and at least one room fitting about 40 or more. Some have refrigerators, sinks, and microwaves. At some branches, meeting rooms can be used after hours.
The branches’ common areas are getting bookshelves and other furniture on casters to accommodate readings and other big events. The branches are also getting children’s spaces and teen spaces with suitable materials and equipment. At the new Hough library, patron Donya Waugh said, “They have the biggest dollhouse I’ve ever seen.”
In recent years, even apart from the upgrades, library branches have been expanding beyond books to hosting legal services, cementing their role as community hubs. From July 2022 to July 2023, the Hough, Mt. Pleasant, and South branches have gotten “Neighborhood Housing Court Kiosks” for parties to use in virtual hearings. Cleveland Housing Court installed the kiosks and upgraded its website with a $75,000 technology grant from the Ohio Supreme Court.
It’s not clear how many patrons have used them, because officials don’t track those numbers. But many housing defendants are represented by the Cuyahoga County public defender’s office, and chief public defender Cullen Sweeney says the clients like the kiosks. “It’s a lot easier than having to come downtown,” he said.
LegalWorks, a nonprofit that helps clear criminal records, holds weekly office hours at Fulton, Mt. Pleasant, Glenville, and Woodland libraries. James Levin, who leads LegalWorks, says that clients feel comfortable there. “Libraries are familiar. It’s not like going into a law office and sitting in some formal foyer.”
Five branches are complete, with four more underway
So far, five upgraded branches have reopened: the renovated Jefferson last October, the new Hough last November, the renovated West Park in January, the renovated Lorain in June, and the new Woodland in August.
Patrons praise the results. “It’s a beautiful upgrade,” said patron Tychelle Mixon in Woodland’s glassy new space.
Crews demolished the old Hough on Crawford Ave. and built the new one on the more visible corner of Lexington Ave. and East. 66th Street, along a Regional Transit Authority bus line, across from League Park and Fatima Family Center. Patron Chandra Sturdivant said at the new Hough, “I love it. They’ve got more things for the kids to do.”
West Park’s 1928 building was designed by Walker and Weeks, the Cleveland firm behind the designs of the Main Library, the old Municipal Stadium, and other landmarks. Now, the West Park branch has been expanded and a drop ceiling removed to expose a vaulted ceiling. “It’s cool,” said patron Jim Sgro.
Work is underway at four other branches. The renovated Eastman should reopen Oct. 28 and the renovated Brooklyn in November. The new Rockport should open next March and the new Martin Luther King, Jr. next summer.
MLK will occupy the first two floors of the nine-story Library Lofts, a new apartment building in a complex called Circle Square. Steve Rubin of Midwest Development Partners said, “We’re building a neighborhood including all kinds of amenities, the library being an important one.”
What else is ahead?
Next will come Glenville, a project expedited and enhanced because of a $3.25 million gift last year from the Mandel Foundation, mostly for a Digital Innovation Center there. Lang hopes to see ground broken early next year.
The old Walz branch has been razed but the new one delayed. It is supposed to lie partly under a Karam Senior Living facility built by the Northwest Neighborhoods community development corporation. But inflation has outstripped Karam‘s original financing, and Northwest is seeking more.
Each upgraded branch has at least 7,000 square feet. Each has a pickup locker available around the clock. The smaller ones offer mostly popular materials.
Nine branches – West Park, Walz, Rockport, South Brooklyn, South, Woodland, Fleet, Rice, and Memorial-Nottingham – are becoming community hubs, with 12,000-15,000 square feet apiece and extra materials and equipment.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Carnegie West will be regional anchors, with even more to offer. MLK will have 29,000 square feet. Carnegie West will have roughly 20,000, including a new, accessible entrance on the north side.
The old Woodland building is becoming the library’s distribution center, where new materials are catalogued and shipped to branches. It is replacing the current distribution center at the Memorial-Nottingham branch.
That branch will be renovated or replaced on location. But Lang said some of the site’s 18 acres might be transferred. It adjoins the Cleveland Metroparks’ Wildwood Park.
The library is also raising money for the branches’ grounds. Woodland is getting an outdoor classroom and performance space.
Cleveland voters funded the branch upgrades in 2017 by adding two mills to a continuing operating levy. The mills are worth $35 per year for a $50,000 home. Inflation has raised the expected cost of the first batch of upgrades from $62.5 million to $70 million and seems likely to raise the cost of the remaining construction,too. Still, the library’s Lang says the library should be able to cover the increase without going back to the voters.
After upgrading the branches, which are targeted for completion in 2029, the library expects to seek money from taxpayers to renovate the Main and Stokes buildings downtown.
Visit the Cleveland Public Library’s website for updates on branch closings, construction, and re-openings.
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