Library buys property for bigger building

The library board will likely start a building plan by forming a foundation.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LEETONIA -- Things are looking up at the Leetonia Public Library -- up the hill, that is.
Andy Smith has been director of the library for nine months, and now has his work cut out for him. The library board was the highest bidder at $171,000 for the purchase of the 5-acre property along Walnut Street that was the former site of the Leetonia High School and football stadium.
The current library is at Main and Walnut streets downtown, on the west side of Walnut Street. The school property fronts the east side of Walnut Street at the top of the hill. Farther north on Walnut Street is the school district's new campus.
Smith said the library board will likely start a five- to 10-year building plan by forming a foundation. The next step will be to explore options and get some designs on paper so the community has an idea of what the plans are.
He said the library board has been eyeing the school property since the school construction project began. The school district no longer needed the property because a new high school and football stadium are part of the district's new campus with facilities that house all pupils.
Immediate need
Smith said that though it will be several years before the library could move to a new facility on the former school property, the additional space is needed now. He said there isn't much real estate available in Leetonia that is large enough for a library and parking, so the board had hoped the former school site would become available.
Renovations of the former bank building were made in the 1990s on a 20-year growth plan, but the library outgrew the space in just five years, he said.
The new 5-acre property will allow for construction not only of a larger building to house the library's growing collection, but a building that could include community spaces such as meeting and activity rooms. There will also be room for a parking lot, which the current site lacks.
Smith said the site in the center of a residential area, near the village park and just a few blocks from the school campus is an ideal location for a public library.
Fund-raising options
He said the board is looking at a variety of options to raise money for construction, including state and federal grants and loans, a capital campaign or a library levy. He said that the community has been supportive of the library in the past and that many of the library's 3,500 card holders support a construction project.
He said circulation continues to grow and averages 90,000 to 100,000 or more each year. Use of library computers for Internet searches is the most rapid growth area, and a larger library will allow expansion of those computer services in a more open area, he said.