SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Three major initiatives are being discussed at the Springfield-Greene County Library District: the hiring of a construction firm to build a new auditorium at the Library Center, upgrading the Midtown Carnegie Branch, and possibly constructing an all new Republic Library.
The district has millions of dollars in American Rescue Plan Act (COVID-19 stimulus) funding, which must be used by 2026. All the ARPA funding must be matched by the library’s own local funding; $4.5 million has been approved for a project at the Republic Branch.
Vickie Hicks, Springfield Greene-County Library District community relations director, explains the three options on the table.
The first option is to expand the current building to accommodate an auditorium and business center. The next option would include keeping the current branch and building a brand new library to the north on the same property. The last option is to choose a new property in conjunction with new construction by the city of Republic and the Republic School District.
“We are very excited,” Hicks told The Heartlander. “We haven’t had any branch expansions in a number of years. The Republic has grown leaps and bounds. We are very interested in meeting the needs of that growing community.
“There is a chance we could continue to provide service without any disruption and build a new branch. We would then tear down the existing branch, which is just a basic building, and then add more parking into that space.”
Hicks says the current auditorium at Springfield’s Library Center Branch has limited seating and is highly requested for meetings and a number of events. Per the fire marshal, only 150 people are permitted into today’s auditorium. If the district decides to move forward with a new meeting space, the plan is to construct a 500-seat facility, complete with a business center.
In weeks to come, The Library Center will host “Geezerfest” on Sept. 9, featuring the local band Geezer, to kick off a fundraising campaign to help match ARPA funds. The concert will be inside. Hicks says library staff will be busy clearing bookshelves for more room. During a recent Springfield Symphony performance inside The Library Center, 800 patrons showed up, posing a bigger need for expansion.
“We do believe there is a need for an expanded auditorium. We had to close the branch at noon that day to move the stacks out of the way. We created a space for the symphony to perform and didn’t move everything out of the way. People were seated every which way but loose, in order to fit them into that space. The sound was wonderful, but it is quite an ordeal to move the stacks, so it would be great to have a room that we could use without having to move our library collection.”
In addition to the possible expansion of the Republic Library and Library Center, the Midtown Carnegie Branch is getting its own facelift. Hicks says the building is old and has outdated plumbing, HVAC, floors and elevators. All will be replaced in the near future. The Midtown Carnegie Branch will remain open during all renovations.
The Springfield-Greene County Library Board of Trustees will meet in the next month to pin down final decisions and details.
