Jackson's flagship library closed since June to be torn down. See details

The Eudora Welty Library, the flagship library of the Jackson/Hinds Library System, is going to be torn down, according to Melissa Payne, the city's director of communication.

The announcement was made in the late afternoon Monday. No further details were provided by Payne about the timeline of when the library would be demolished. The library has been closed since June and has experienced recent issues with the air conditioning, as well as leaking pipes.

Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote said there were discussions between council members and the city about the idea of tearing down Eudora Welty Library, but no concrete plans have been made. Council members should have a say in whether the library is torn down, Foote said.

"I think the council should have a say in how this is handled. Is it going to be expensive to tear this down? Can we get the state involved? Are there other parties out there that could bear the expense?," Foote said. "I don't think we should just make this decision in a vacuum and bear all the burden. I think it would be better to reach out and find some partners."

Foote also said some people would like to see the property where the library sits turned into a green space to complement the Mississippi Museum of History and The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, which are located a street behind.

The news of the Eudora Welty Library being torn down comes amid a time where the Jackson/Hinds Library System has been bogged down by maintenance issues at multiple facilities and finding funds for repairs is an ongoing problem for the City of Jackson and the library system.

According to Peyton Smith, the chairman of the system's board of trustees, the following facilities currently need repairs:

• Medgar Evers Library has been closed since July due to a broken air-conditioning system that made the facility unworkable in the summer due to the higher temperatures. The library had a curbside pick-up program, but that was shut down in the middle of August. Smith said when temperatures drop the library could reopen for public service. Funding has been allocated to replace the air-conditioning unit, Smith said and the hope is that it gets replaced before next spring or summer. Smith said he is expecting an update from the city sometime this week.

• Willie Morris Library had a leaky pipe that eventually burst and flooded the library back in January. The water was cleared quickly so that there were no issues with mold, but new carpet must be installed. The bathroom where the pipe burst also needs repairs. The library is open to the public, but it "does not present in a way that we think is acceptable and the service we're able to provide is limited," Smith said. The city and the library system are still in discussions about the timeline the repairs will be made.

• Richard Wright Library has been closed since 2020 due to needed plumbing repairs at the facility. Similar to the Willie Morris Library, the City of Jackson and the Jackson/Hinds library board are in discussions about those repairs.

• Fannie Lou Hamer Library has leak issues. Smith said he wasn't exactly sure what the status of those repairs are. The library is open.

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During this year's budget discussions, the Jackson City Council shared concerns about the City's libraries. Multiple council members said they would like to find additional funds in the budget to help with needed repairs.

But that didn't happen, according to Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay who spoke on the matter last week.

"It was such a tight year. We managed to get a whole lot done, but we just couldn't get there with that (additional library funding)," Lindsay said.

Finding adequate funding for the library system has been an issue now for years.

The city does utilize revenue from the millage rate to fund the library system, which was unaltered in this year's budget talks. Approximately $2 million is used for the libraries from the millage, as has been the case in 2021, 2020 and 2019, according to past budgets. It has not been announced how much funding Hinds County is allocating for the library system for the next fiscal year, though Smith said it is usually around $1.6 million.

Smith and Lindsay both said the libraries would be able to use the $2 million for repairs. Additional funding could be sought out in the form of state and federal grants. The Mississippi Library Commission also provides grant funding for the system each year.

"The facilities are the problem with our library system. We have great staff, people who love the library and do great work in the library system. But we just don't have buildings that are open," Smith said. "The buildings have just not maintained for many years."

Smith said one explanation for the deterioration of the library facilities is due to different interpretations of state law that "led many to believe that the library systems could not spend any money on the buildings whatsoever." Rather, the funding would be used to make sure libraries had adequate staffing and resources for residents.

"But we have worked with the city attorney's office this year and requested the attorney general clarify the law around that and our appreciation is that now — in light of a new attorney general's opinion — that the library systems are free to utilize money within our operating budget to assist with maintaining the buildings," Smith said. "That could help stabilize the facility's issues that the library system has been experiencing, but at the same time the library system needs funds in order to perform that work."

Smith recognizes that the city's public works department is "overloaded" with other demands throughout the city, such as pothole and traffic light repairs. He said he understands that sometimes a "leaky roof at a library is not going to be their top priority."

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"We have a lot of really complicated and difficult issues that our leaders are facing. I've told the administration 'we want to be a fountain, not a drain," Smith said. "The truth is that the problems the Jackson/Hinds Library System is facing is very straight forward and compared to most problems the city faces it's very cheap. So it just takes a willingness to make that investment, to get the facilities stabilized and then make a plan to maintain them moving forward for some additional funding for the system to do that."

Until then, Smith said the library system and the board of trustees will continue discussions with the city about the needed repairs.

"We have an ongoing dialogue with the city about a lot of these issues. We're trying to develop a plan to get these buildings taken care of. We've had good conversations, just not a lot of movement," Smith said. "But, I understand there's been a lot to deal with. Again, we know there are a lot of issues that the city faces."

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Eudora Welty Library to be torn down, updates on other city libraries