Maplewood Library will shut down on June 3rd for renovations

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The Maplewood Library in Rochester is set to close to the public on June 3rd. Leaders are currently in the process of negotiating for a temporary mobile library site, which will be active anywhere from 18 months to two years, depending on how long construction lasts.

In 2017 a firm conducted a branch facility review to determine what condition certain libraries were in, and how each neighborhood would grow in terms of development, demographics, and new populations. The study, released in 2018, identified three libraries as top-tier issues including The Maplewood branch, which is the highest performing in terms of daily visits and usage. It was approved for either a full renovation and expansion or a relocation.

“I’m very excited to see what we end up with. Maplewood has been one of my projects for a number of years because of the vast use of the space,” said Patricia Uttaro, Director of the Rochester Public Library.

Uttaro has been working in libraries for 42 years and has been the director of the Rochester Public Library for 16. She is retiring next year so, she won’t lead the project past the finish line.

“I’m absolutely confident that it will go through with no problems whatsoever,” she said

The other libraries identified in the study were the Lincoln branch and Lyell. Lincoln opened after a full makeover last August. Lyell was identified as a potential site for a mobile operation and a traditional onsite library service. Uttaro says Lyell is in progress—they have the vehicle and are preparing it for use, which they expect to put on the road later this year.

“Public libraries are some of the last spaces where people can go and not be expected to buy anything. And they (people) can hang out for as long as they want to,” Uttaro says.

The Maplewood location is the next big project and the renovation is necessary.

“We replaced sidewalks more than once over the last few years, because of the traffic, And the steps in the front have been repaired multiple times, and they just keep crumbling,” she said.

The new space will have an additional 2600 square feet— with a heavy focus on children with a large play space.

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