Kalamazoo library mulls options to replace Alma Powell Branch

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — The Kalamazoo Public Library’s lone location in the city’s Northside neighborhood, the Alma Powell Branch, is set to close Saturday.

That’s because its landlord, the Douglass Community Association, implemented new security measures requiring visitors to sign in or out of the building. The library says it cannot operate with those rules in place.

“That is the some of the premise behind a public library, is free and open access and barrier-free access to information as well as to services,” Kalamazoo Public Library Interim Director Terry New said. “This is not a closure that we had anticipated but it’s something that is necessary for us to remain compliant within the law.”

In a statement posted to Facebook last week, the Douglass Community Association said the new measures were “implemented … to increase the safety and security of its tenants, employees, patrons and guests.”

It wished a “fond by melancholy farewell” to the library branch, saying it offered up options to protect visitors’ sign-in information in logbooks and installation of a dedicated library entry entrance, but that KPL “made the decision to seek other accommodations.”

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Library staff held a public forum mid-day Tuesday to discuss options, including additional mobile libraries in the Northside or building a separate entrance at the community association. Another forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Lincoln school auditorium on Burdick Street near Frank Street.

The library is also taking feedback through an online survey.

The library says the Alma Powell Branch serves 11,000 visitors annually. The community association said it will may work with the library to host special events.

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