Two community libraries are preparing to start their next chapters, moving out of their existing homes into expanded, new facilities.

Interlochen Public Library
Fundraising volunteers behind a capital campaign to construct a new Interlochen Public Library are rapidly approaching their $2.5 million goal line.

Campaign Co-Chair Mary Beth Hardwicke says the group has raised nearly $2,450,000 to date. Gifts have included $750,000 in foundation grants, several five and six-figure donations from individual donors, and a recent $250,000 contribution from Tom’s Food Markets. “We’re really close, but also all project estimates are two-and-a-half years old now, so we’re going to keep fundraising through at least the end of the year,” says Hardwicke. “We want to top it and go far above it.”

The funds will allow Interlochen to break ground in spring 2017 on a new facility on township property next to Green Lake Township Hall on Tenth Street. The building will feature a three-story glass entry that acts as a “beacon” to M-137 traffic – a visibility upgrade over the library’s “off the beaten track” location now on Riley Road, says Hardwicke – and double the space of the old building.

Twenty-first century technology upgrades, an expanded children’s area, a dedicated teen space, a mix of common and private reading and studying areas, and an outdoor reading deck (pictured) are all included in the new library plans. The new library will also offer a conference room that can be rented out by local groups, plus a large community event room with an attached commercial and incubator kitchen.

“When you’re in a small community, the library is often the heart of the community,” says Hardwicke, explaining that the library’s multiple event spaces and professional kitchen will allow the facility to host events like baby showers, wedding showers and memorial services. “We’re planning a lot of programming already for that community room – everything from cooking classes to financial planning to programming for seniors. We really are pushing as a library to be involved in our community and provide programming that’s helpful to the community.”

The enthusiastic response to the library’s fundraising campaign – which has grown from 18 to 45 volunteers in the last 30 months – reflects the growing demand for library services that drove the construction project to begin with. Between 2004 and 2013, Interlochen’s patronage increased 70 percent; circulation totals increased 50 percent, while participation in children’s programming went up 60 percent.

With fundraising nearing the finish line, officials say the project should be on track for the planned spring groundbreaking. “Depending on weather, we might be lucky enough to be in at the end of 2017,” says Hardwicke. “If not, then by the very early part of 2018.”

Peninsula Community Library
Uncertainty over the future of Old Mission Peninsula School prompted Peninsula Community Library board members last month to vote to separate from Traverse City Area Public Schools and construct a new independent library.

Peninsula Community Library currently rents space from TCAPS in the elementary school for $6,000 per year. “The space we occupy has never been our own,” Director Victoria Shurly wrote in an October 20 letter to patrons. “Aside from the school issue, there is the increasingly important question of security in a world where schools must question everyone who enters a building in order to protect students, and that of a public library where all must be allowed free entry. Should patrons ever be required to sign in or be buzzed in, should we ever have to close for a period of time because we had no place to go, the state would for certain pull our certification as a public library and we would cease to exist.”

Library trustees have set their sights on building their own new facility on 5.25 acres owned by the organization at the corner of Island View and Center roads. The project is estimated to cost between $2 and $3 million, with $250,000 in seed money – set aside over the years for emergency funds – now placed into a dedicated building fund. The library held a public open house to begin gathering community input on the new project this week, with fundraising anticipated to begin in the coming weeks and months.

“Know that we have appreciated our relationship all these years with the school and will continue to collaborate regardless of where we are physically located,” Shurly wrote. “However, it is time that we serve our community in a different capacity.”