What are the plans for Eudora Welty Library? Archives and History wants it for green space

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the City of Jackson and the Jackson/Hinds Library System have had recent discussions about the prospect of demolishing the Eudora Welty Library to build a green space for the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.

On Monday, the city announced plans to tear down Eudora Welty Library, which has faced various maintenance issues over the past several years. The flagship library, first built in 1946 as a Sears Department Store, has been closed since June due to a broken air conditioning unit that caused high temperatures for the library staff. The building also has had issues with flooding and leaking pipes in the building.

Katie Blount, director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, said they have been eyeing the property for years.

Before any plans for green space on the property can proceed, however, city council members have expressed a desire to discuss prospects of rebuilding the city's main branch of the library, named for Jackson literary legend Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Eudora Welty, if not on the current location then somewhere else appropriate.

"We've been interested in what happens on that property since we opened the museums," Blount said in an interview Thursday. "It's always been a concern to us that when you walk out of our museums — and the visitor experience at the museums is kind of intense — then you walk out and what your looking at is a giant cell tower, some unused water tanks, a dumpster and the back of a building that has seen better days. So we were always kind of aware that there would be an opportunity here to improve the visitor experience at our site."

Blount said when the uncertainty of the building continuing to be used as a public library became clear to her and her team, they began communications with the city and the JHLS about their interest in taking over the property.

The goal is to build a public green space that would better connect the two museums to downtown Jackson and be available as a space for public events such as the Mississippi Makers Fest. It could also be used to rent out as a space for other organizations holding events.

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Discussions about how much the city is going to sell the property for have been ongoing, but Blount couldn't offer any set price tag. She also said a date has not been set of when a purchase could be made or when demolition would start, but "we have done some initial design work on the green space."

Before all that, the department of history and archives would have to submit a notice of intent, hold a public comment for residents to give input and then the department's board of trustees will have to vote on the project.

The city, JHLS and the department of archives and history are all in agreement about the plans, Blount said.

Some members of the Jackson City Council have expressed wariness about the potential green space. Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote previously said he thinks more discussion between all parties needs to be had before jumping into the project, while Ward 4 Councilman Brian Grizzell said the city should rebuild the Eudora Welty Library in the same location.

"I've lived in other cities that had state-of-the-art libraries. Jackson deserves just that," Grizzell said. "Eudora Welty Library was once that, but it's time for something else. I believe that JHLS should build a state of the art library right where the current library stands."

Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay said she is fully on board with the plan to turn the library into a green space.

Peyton Smith, the chairman of the JHLS board of trustees, said he is on board with the plans, as long as the city stays committed to finding a new site for the library.

“The city has made clear that they don’t intend to repair that facility (Eudora Welty Library), so what we want is a plan that is sustainable and gives us the opportunity to have a headquarters library that we deserve," Smith said. "If the city isn’t intent on making those repairs then whatever needs to happen to move this process forward to where we can get to a true flagship, downtown library again then we are onboard with it.”

Melissa Payne, Jackson's director of communications, said fixing maintenance issues at the Eudora Welty Library facility would be too expensive. The city is "very much in agreement" in turning that space into a green space to help highlight the two museums, Payne said.

The library system can't spend its own funding on capital improvements, Smith said, "so to some extent we are at the city's mercy." He called the green space an "exciting project" but said it leaves the library system in a difficult spot because they have to trust that the city will keep its word on finding a new space for the library.

"We hope that the city, the city council, even archives and history, everyone will remain engaged and cooperative as we work towards identifying a worthwhile, long-term home for Welty," Smith said.

Blount said her department is committed to helping the city and the library system find a new home for Eudora Welty Library in downtown Jackson. That is a top priority for JHLS, said Smith, who has been in talks with the city about finding a temporary location until a permanent location can be found. One option is Union Station, he said.

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But moving the library does offer a few logistical challenges, such as storing the library's resources and finding a space for the staff. The Eudora Welty Library has served as an office space for the headquarters of JHLS as well. Finding a new space for the headquarters' administrative staff also poses a challenge and moving the materials is in the six-figure range, Smith said.

"We have to move the materials out. We will likely have to store the materials," Smith said. "We don’t think it’s likely that there is going to be a long-term home for the branch to move straight into from the facility it’s currently in, so having some sort of short-term presence downtown until we can identify a long-term home for the Welty Library is key. We’re just trying to navigate all of those components."

Funds are needed to help with some of the logistical problems, and the city has applied for grants worth “millions” to help, said Payne, adding the city is waiting to hear back on those.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson MS to demolish Eudora Welty Library but has a plan