City Council passes resolution to ask CADL to keep downtown library

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Will they stay? Or will they go? The Lansing City Council unanimously passed a resolution Monday night to ask the Capital Area District Libraries to keep their library open downtown.

Right now, CADL is in early discussions about closing its flagship location. Library officials say the current building is getting too expensive to keep open, but city officials don’t want to see it go.

However, library administrators say they’d rather focus on their other branches.

6 News spoke to downtown leaders who said the library closing would be a huge loss for the whole area.

“Libraries are such an important and accessible place and space for the community to come to and enjoy,” says Cathleen Edgerly, Executive Director of Downtown Lansing Inc.

Groups like Downtown Lansing Inc. say that if the library were to leave, it would take valuable services out of the community.

From local Symphony concerts, of course, getting your books and sharing that love of reading, different classes, you’re able to apply for jobs, use a lot of their online resources,” says Edgerly, “And we have been very grateful to have them be part of our community and the social fabric in downtown Lansing and across our city.”

However, library officials say the 60-year-old flagship location has become a money pit.

“I’m glad they’re fans. I’m glad that they love the library like they do,” says Jenny Marr, CADL executive director. “And I think we’re all wanting the same thing. I think they’re maybe they’re not aware of the realities of some of the maintenance issues we’ve got in this building.”
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After decades of faithful service, the downtown branch is starting to show its age with a growing list of expensive problems, including a broken air conditioner that caused a shutdown for more than a week this summer—and more are on the way.

“Well, I say we have things coming down in the pipeline, and in our case that happens to be cracked cast iron pipes,” says Marr. “So we know we’re going to have to deal with the roof elevators radiators, I mean it’s a 60-year-old building and there are a lot of 60-year-old parts in here.”

In addition to being expensive, the way people use libraries has also changed over the past 60 years, which makes a big flagship location obsolete in most cases.

“We try to have smaller, more sustainable branches in the neighborhood meeting people where they’re at, and trying to go where people are,” says Marr.

Library officials want to remind people that they are still in the very early stages of this decision, and that just because they are leaving this branch, doesn’t mean they are leaving downtown for good.

They will keep talking with city leaders about what the next chapter of the Lansing library system will look like.

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