Jul. 14—The Village branch of Clark County Libraries will move to a new location this summer, and a new branch will be constructed on Middle Urbana Road within the next few years.

The Village branch will move from its Sunset Avenue location to 1863 S. Limestone St. in the Southgate Plaza within the coming weeks, with its opening expected for the end of the month or beginning of August, Library Director Bill Martino said.

The Springfield branch has seen declining attendance over the past few years, Martino said, which made library leadership consider other places to reach patrons.

The South Limestone corridor has also seen development over the past several years: recently, the addition of a grocery store.

Martino said the library wishes to contribute to development in the city's south side by taking up space in the Southgate Plaza and tapping into a higher population density that includes students in area schools and senior citizens living in nearby housing.

The future home of the Northridge branch, a library addition that has been discussed for several years, will be roughly eight miles from the library's main branch in downtown Springfield, and it is expected to serve the people living in Northridge — more than 7,300 residents — and the broader Moorefield Twp. area — roughly 11,000 people.

A parcel of land in the 4000 block of Middle Urbana Road near Moorefield Road went into the library's ownership last month, according to the library.

"We're stressing community engagement and bringing the library to the people," Martino said. "So this is another step toward that."

An estimate for the construction cost is unclear, and Martino said the building and grounds committee for the Clark County Library Board will determine a threshold for the construction cost in the coming weeks.

The library hopes to identify an architect for the new branch by fall with construction expected to begin within the next two years, Martino said.

Aside from the Village branch and the upcoming Northridge branch, the Clark County Public Library system currently contains multiple branches, with two others in Springfield, one in Enon, and one in South Charleston. The library also utilizes a "bookmobile" that travels around the county.