Library stacks up with center

by Karen E. Culp

SBJ Staff

These days, it's a moveable feast of books, equipment and staff for the Springfield-Greene County Library.

The Library Center, the newest and largest branch of the library system, will open at 4653 S. Campbell in November.

The library will open its new center, called a destination library, Nov. 6, said Annie Busch, executive director of the Springfield-Greene County Library. The new center is to be unlike any other branch in the library district, with special amenities making it the kind of place "people make a special trip to," Busch said.

The $6.5 million renovation of the former Payless Cashways building on South Campbell Avenue is nearly complete now, with administrative offices and staff from the Kickapoo Prairie Branch already moved into the new center. Kickapoo Prairie is closed permanently now and under contract to be sold to Billy Long. That sale, for $1.6 million, is set to close in November, said Jeanne Duffey, library spokeswoman.

What is called the Main Library banquet at 397 E. Central is also closed now and will be until Nov. 4. That library will become the Midtown Carnegie Branch and will be renovated beginning in early 2000, Duffey said.

To complete its move into The Library Center, the library staff is using a mix of old and new equipment, recycling as much as it can.

"We've retained all the shelving from the Kickapoo branch and that will be used in the new center. We're reusing absolutely everything we can," Busch said.

The cost to renovate the 83,000-square-foot building has been "way below the average" for such a task, Busch said. The library is paying for the new center with a combination of funding, including $2 million from the sale of two buildings, $3.1 million from the sale of bonds and a $1 million fund-raising campaign, in addition to some short-term financing, Busch said.

The new center will have extended hours and expanded resources, Busch said.

The additions will require more staffing, and though the library is hiring temporary people to help with the transition, Busch said she doesn't know how many permanent new jobs the new center will generate.

"We will need people to begin with and will hire temporary people to help out, but we will then have to adapt those hours based on what we actually need after the center is up and running," Busch said.

Among the library's expanded resources will be its Business Resource Center, which will not only house a collection of books and periodicals for business research, but will also have fax machines, computers and copiers available for use by patrons.

Larger book collections in all areas will be possible with the completion of The Library Center, a process that before expansion was difficult, Busch said.

"We were pulling one book off the shelf for every one we added. Now we will be able to expand collections as needed