The Stark Main Library is busy moving materials to its temporary location, which will be open for three years during the demolition of the current library and construction of a new one downtown.
CANTON − The Stark Main Library is busy moving materials to its temporary location, which will be open for three years during the demolition of the current library and construction of a new one downtown.
The Main Library in Canton will close Aug. 30 for the relocation. The temporary library location — the former Nationwide building at 1020 Market Ave. N — will open to the public on Oct. 6.
"We've started moving some shelving already," Stark Library CEO and Executive Director Mary Ellen Icaza said. "This is like the next step in our journey to our new Main Library."
There's a lot of work to do before it's ready to open. The temporary location will be fitted with all of the library's existing shelving and furniture.
"It's a make do, make it work kind of situation," Stark Library Director of Marketing and Communications Danielle Attar said.
The downtown library will be closed Aug. 30 to Oct. 6 during the move. Library patrons will have access to the Bookmobile in the Main Library parking lot at 715 Market Ave. N and the other nine library locations will be open normal hours.
The building has been vacant since Nationwide closed its Canton office in 2019. Stark Library will occupy half of the building. The other half is still vacant.
What will the temporary Main Library look like?
The temporary location will have two floors of public space to provide all the services available now at the Main Library, including the Maker Studio, genealogy and passport services.
Parking is north of the building off 11th Street NE. The front entrance is at the corner of Market Avenue and 11th Street.
The building was not made to be a library, so Attar said it was like a puzzle to figure out the layout for the library's collections.
The first floor will have the front desk and checkout area near the entrance. The majority of bookshelves will be on the first floor in the large main area.
Behind the main room will be the children's section, with shelves of children's books and space for children's programs and play.
Directly outside the children's area is a small outdoor courtyard for public use.
The second floor will be more activity-oriented, housing the genealogy section, the Maker Studio, computers and the teen section, along with some more bookshelves.
The temporary location will also have meeting rooms available for community groups for free.
"Community groups, neighborhood associations or other nonprofit organizations reserve the rooms. We also use them a lot for our own programming," Icaza said.
Bookmobile and other library locations will be open during closure
The Main Library will be closed all of September while materials are moved to the temporary location down the street. The Bookmobile will be open weekdays in the parking lot at 715 Market Ave. N to continue providing library services.
At the Bookmobile, library users can pick up holds, get notary services, browse library collections and access Backpack for Kids meal distribution.
Bookmobile hours from Sep 2 through Oct 3 are:
- Monday −2:00pm to 6:00pm
- Tuesday −1:00pm to 4:00pm
- Wednesday −9:00am to 1:00pm
- Thursday −9:00am to 1:00pm
- Friday −1:00pm to 4:00pm
Free Wi-Fi, electric vehicle charging and the book drop will be available at all times outside the Main Library during the closure.
All nine other Stark Library locations will be open during their normal hours.
Stark Library Operations Center nearing completion, Main Library to come in 2028
Construction on the Stark Library Operations Center started in September 2024 and is expected to be complete in November. Staff will move in in December.
The new building will not be open to the public. It will house various library departments like maintenance, mobile services, book processing and technical services.
Operations Center staff will serve all of Stark Library's 10 locations.
Finance Director Chris Butler said the building was designed specifically for the various departments.
"We really planned it to be operationally efficient," he said. "We actually brought those managers into the meetings with the architects and asked them to help us design the space."
The new Main Library will be the final piece of Stark Library's multi-year Re∣imagine plan, opens a new window, which has so far included renovations at eight branch libraries and the addition of a new branch library in Jackson.
Attar said the Main Library is the "crown jewel" of the project.
Demolition of the existing library will start in January. Construction is expected to be complete by spring or summer of 2028.
Icaza said the new Main Library will be updated for modern library needs. She wants it to be "a destination, a resource for everyone in the community."
New features that will be unique to the downtown library will be a children's interactive play space, more outdoor space for programs and more windows.
The new library will also have a large meeting room that can accommodate up to 150 people.
"I don't know of another space like that downtown that's open for community groups to use," Icaza said.
Construction of the Operations Center and new Main Library will cost about $66 million. Butler said they will pay for it with the library's capital fund and borrowing from the state's Public Library Fund.
View the full article HERE.
Grace Springer
Canton Repository
