With a mission statement that underscores Cleveland's desire to be the nation's best urban library system, new improvements are as important as new books.
But the last major renovations of the Superior Avenue main complex were nearly 15 years ago.
Executive Director Felton Thomas says while an overhaul is overdue; the coming Medical Mart directly north of their site makes this the right time for change.
FELTON THOMAS, JR:
"When you're looking at the Medical Mart, you're looking at the casino that's going to be a little further from us, there are going to be a lot more visitors to come in this area and the Cleveland Public Library needs to be a place where the people who are visiting us, or the people who we serve, can come down and receive a variety of services."}
The first phase of the project is a new tech center, putting more than 100 available public use computers and I-T staff into one area of the Library's Stokes Wing. Board President Tom Corrigan says the improvement makes sense on several levels.
TOM CORRIGAN:
"There will still be computers in all the departments for catalog and related purposes, but to really make a tech central is really an important thing, both to help our staff, to accommodate the public, and to basically ...save funds."
Saving funds is key to the expansions. Thomas says all improvements will be designed to lower costs and increase efficiency, while also making the library more inviting.
The one-point-two million needed to build the Tech Center, the first of five phases, is already in hand, but the board was told in its Thursday meeting that it must find creative ways to fund the rest of the plan, which includes shifting departments and personnel. That may be tough, given that hours and staffing have recently been cut at some branches. Thomas says the library probably WON'T try to pass a levy for capital improvements.
