Library board approves expansion

BOARDMAN -- The Youngstown-Mahoning County Public Library Board of Trustees has agreed to buy land from Youngstown State University to expand the main library on Wick Avenue in Youngstown.
The measure was passed unanimously by David Ritchie, Thomas D.Y. Fok, James J. Meehan, Harold E. Moore and Clarence R. Smith Jr. during the board's quarterly meeting at the library here.
Members not present were Kathryn G. Bennett, Millicent Counts, Delores Crawford, Judge Mary DeGenero, Josephine Houser, R. Frank Huntley, C. Gilbert James Jr., Thomas A. Shipka, John H. Yerian III and Michael V. Sciortino.
The measure must now be approved by the YSU Board of Trustees.
The land is on Walnut Street behind the main library on Wick Avenue. The purchase price is $54,000, library Director Carlton A. Sears said.
The acquisition will be used to provide amenities to the main library, such as additional parking, a cafe, meeting rooms and children's facilities, Sears said.
The $54,000 will come from the building and repair fund, he said. According to the treasurer's report, that fund is currently at nearly $9.6 million after receiving money from the sale of the North Branch on Fifth Avenue.
Total renovations will take between five and six years and are part of the board's Library 2011 master plan to improve the libraries in the system, Sears said.