Library Center opens 500-seat Hatch Auditorium

The Hatch Auditorium, a flexible 500-seat event venue near the city’s southern boundary, is open at the Library Center.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Jan. 13, and grand opening events are planned through the coming weekend by Friends of the Library.

These were slated to kick off with a teen silent disco using wireless headphones at 7 p.m. Jan. 16 for participants ages 12-18. For kids ages 2-11, a STEMusic concert with a combination of science experiments and a musical performance is set for 11 a.m. Jan. 17, and for adults, a concert and dance party featuring oldies is on the slate for that evening at 6:30 p.m. Wrapping up the celebration is a concert by Bob Holden’s Community Jazz Ensemble at 2 p.m. Jan. 18.

The lineup is meant to showcase the possibilities of the space, according to Vickie Hicks, community relations director for the Springfield-Greene County Library District.

“It is going to be a community space,” she said.

Hicks said the library has a summer reading program event at which members the Springfield Ballet teach dance principles to children and do a performance. It’s an event, she noted, that is tailor-made for the space.

“Every year, it has been so packed,” she said. “Now we have another space we can use.”

She said the library will also be able to ramp up some of its author events, like an April appearance by author Kate Quinn, who wrote the library’s 2026 One Read selection, “The Briar Club.”

“We can think in a bigger scale now,” Hicks said. “We were always limited before.”

The 19,340-square-foot addition to the west side of the Library Center was designed by Sapp Design Architects Inc. with engineers Olsson Inc., civil, and RTM Engineering Consultants LLC, structural, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. General contractor for the $8.2 million building was Branco Enterprises Inc.

The facility was paid for through private donations, including a naming-level donation from the Hatch Foundation, a family-funded philanthropic organization, plus Springfield-allocated funds of $4 million from the American Rescue Plan Act for COVID-19 recovery, according to past SBJ reporting.

A purpose of the project was to create a south-side venue for community engagement and cultural enrichment, design officials told SBJ in past reporting about the construction project.

The space can host intimate networking sessions and after-hours gatherings in its lobby area or musical performances, banquets, lectures and readings, made possible through flexible seating configurations.

Hicks said 300 of the 500 seats are retractable to create more open-floor or table space.

Library District Executive Director Edward Walton said via email that the auditorium is a multifunctional venue with state-of-the-art sound, lighting and display capabilities.

“The Library District looks forward to the Hatch Auditorium becoming a heavily used event space for our community,” he said.

Greene County Presiding Commissioner Bob Dixon was on hand for the ribbon-cutting. Afterwards, he called it a great facility.

“It’s a great facility, and it kind of fills a niche, not just in the library system, but the greater community – even regionally,” he said. “They’re going to be able to do some educational things and even some things like community concerts, children’s reading programs and author visits.”

Hicks said businesses would also be able to use the space.

“There really aren’t a lot of south-side locations for large events,” she said. “If a CPA firm wants to offer training for their employees, here’s a place they could use. It would also be a great training space for a regional or government activity.”

She added that before the facility opened, the library received a call from Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams, who has scheduled a graduation ceremony for future officers this year.

Dixon praised the library staff and also the Hatch Foundation for supporting the effort.

“They’ve done so much to really enrich the entire region culturally beyond what we already have,” he said.

Hicks said if there is one hiccup for the facility, it is that a lot of people are upset that it’s not free. The library has crafted a statement about that, she said, forwarding it via email:

"The Springfield-Greene County Library District still offers free meeting rooms. The new auditorium is a large, specialized venue with significant technology and staffing costs. Charging a fee helps maintain the space and protects funding for core library services, while still keeping library programs free and accessible to the community."

The library has hired an event spaces coordinator, Stephanie Hornickel, to book the venue, Hicks said. The library’s website does not list the reservation rate, and Hicks said that’s because it varies widely based on factors like whether it’s being used by a nonprofit or for-profit organization, on the number of hours and on the day of the week. She said as a starting rate, the space would cost $750 for a four-hour block, but a full day for a private, fee-based business would cost $2,000.

Erin Danastasio, executive director of the Hatch Foundation, said she was thrilled with the space, and that the design and build processes were seamless.

“I’m eager to see how people use the space,” she said.

She said she loves the auditorium’s modern design, with large windows providing an open and welcoming feel. She said she also likes the thoughtfulness of the approach to making it as useful for as many groups and events as possible.

Another standout quality is its permanent outdoor sculpture, provided in partnership with Sculpture Walk Springfield. The piece is identified in a library announcement as “Visitation” by local artist Michael Stelzer. It measures 7 feet by 7 feet and is 12 feet tall and is composed of powder coated mild steel and 304 stainless, the announcement states.

The library quotes Stelzer as saying, “My hope is that this art sets the tone for what awaits visitors as they enter the new auditorium … a most generous gift from The Hatch Foundation and the curating efforts of Sculpture Walk Springfield. If it makes people wonder, engage and smile … mission accomplished!”

Danastasio said she had heard from library staff that people sometimes had to be turned away for special events because of lack of space.

“I don’t want to see people turned away from meeting their favorite author or hearing memories from a book,” she said. “It’s great to help them create a space that gives people new excuses to come together.”