Here’s the details of the move.
Madison Public Library’s Central Library to Relocate in November
In late November 2011, Madison’s Central Library will temporarily relocate to 126 S. Hamilton St. to accommodate the construction of the new Central Library.
The Central Library, currently at 201 W. Mifflin St., will relocate for approximately two years until the new Central Library is complete. Construction is expected to begin on the new Central Library in January 2012 and the new library will open in 2013. The library will be closed for a brief period while moving from the Mifflin Street location to the Hamilton Street location.
The temporary Central Library at 126 S. Hamilton St. will house a smaller collection consisting mostly of new and popular materials. The smaller space will accommodate 22 public computers and the library will continue to offer reference and checkout services during all open hours. The temporary library will be open Monday-Thursday 9 a.m – 9 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. but will not have Sunday hours October-April. The temporary library will have limited seating and no meeting room availability to the public.
The majority of the Central Library’s collection will be housed off-site but available through the library’s online catalog and reserves system during the temporary relocation. Reserved items from the Central Library’s collection will be transferred for pickup any Madison Public Library location or any library in the South Central Library System.
Building designs and project updates are available on the library’s web site at www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/new-central-library Exact closing dates will be announced in the fall of 2011.
Its really too bad Mayor Soglin hasn’t reopened the review of this issue. The original plan for the City to team with Fiore/Irgens was a much better fiscal and functional project for our Downtown. Commercial development that would create new tax revenue, uses and energy for this critical block near the Overture as well as placing the Library on a marquee corner, sharing a street with the Capitol, Historic Lorraine, State Dept of Commerce and more. More Space developed-increasing density of land use (this is really “green”), more positive development, tax increment created to pay for the project and excellent design.
I can’t help but think Mayor Dave’s secret reversal on the plan and going against council (who simply caved in to his change without their apparent knowledge..the host Alder didn’t even know the Mayor had changed directions)may have been a result of Hammes group saying something like “hey, if the hotel planned there gets going we may not get financing”…meaning “hey, we don’t want any more competition that is better located than our project that you are wayyyyyyyyy over subsidizing”
The costs of the Edgewater fiasco..fiscally, functionally and less visible ones have been huge for Madison…hopefully Mayor Soglin and a Council of very capable people who don’t need to be locked in Dave/Tim “Groupthink” any longer can head forward with better decisions than they were doing under a Mayor who never knew the “art of the deal”…no matter how much he smiled and was publicly “charming”….