Library system to close 2 branches

The branch closings are part of the library's strategic plan.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Lowellville and North Lima branches of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County will close next week, the library system announced Tuesday.
The last day for the Lowellville branch, 151 Second St., will be April 28.
The last day for the North Lima branch, 11822 South Ave., will be April 29.
However, book return boxes will be at those locations through May 31, the library said.
Staff will be transferred to other libraries, and the closings won't result in any layoffs, library officials said.
The notifications concerning the closing dates came just after library officials formally announced Monday that they will be moving the New Middletown branch from Village Hall to a newly purchased storefront and that they are seeking an architect and a location for the library's new East Side Branch in Youngstown.
Part of plan
The branch closings and the initiatives regarding the New Middletown and East Branch were part of the seven-year Library 2011 strategic plan adopted by library trustees last month under which the current 19-branch system is to be reduced to between 12 and 14 branches.
In adopting Library 2011, library officials said they were planning to close some underused branches, and have longer hours and larger collections at remaining locations.
The North Lima branch, built in 1967, has seen a circulation decline of about 30 percent since 1998. The Lowellville branch, built in 1969, has seen a circulation decline of almost 54 percent in the past six years, library officials said.
"Since many of our branch libraries opened many years ago, there have been changes in our county, our libraries and in the people that use them," said Library Director Carlton A. Sears. "The library must also make changes, and sadly, some of those changes and decisions are complex and clearly difficult," he added.
Library trustees will discuss the disposition of the closed properties in the coming months, Sears said.
Lowellville Mayor James Iudiciani Sr. has suggested day care or adult or drug education programs as possible uses for the Lowellville building. He has asked those with suggestions to call his office.