North Omaha library branch renovation

[Admin]

The Charles B. Washington Branch Library in north Omaha is getting a $3.2 million makeover and a temporary new home.

Charles B. Washington Branch Library

The renovation project, scheduled to begin this fall, will add nearly 6,000 square feet to the 32-year-old building at 28th Street and Ames Avenue. It will more than double the number of parking stalls and add a computer lab, a new teen space and an outdoor reading garden and make the floor plan more open.

"It will be a cool place," said John Bernardi, branch manager. "It's going to be something that will really draw people into the library and will be something that the community can be really proud of."

Requests for construction bids are scheduled to go out this week with bids due in early October. The Omaha City Council then would have to sign off on the bid for construction to begin in November.

During construction, patrons will lose the building but not library services. The Washington branch is moving to the second floor of the Omaha Housing Authority's Gateway building at 4401 N. 21st St.

The branch will close for the month of October as library workers pack up the collection and move most of it to storage, with computers and the most popular items going to Gateway.

The temporary Washington branch is scheduled to reopen Nov. 1.

Because of construction, citizens who vote at the library will cast their ballots elsewhere during the Nov. 2 elections.

The Douglas County Election Commissioner's Office has made preliminary arrangements for voters to move across the street, to the Cathedral of Love Church of God in Christ, 2816 Ames Ave. That selection has not been formalized yet.

The city is acquiring lots to the north of the library, including some holding houses that will be torn down for the expansion.

The Omaha Public Library has had a presence at the corner of 28th Street and Ames Avenue since 1921, when the branch first opened in a converted church during a blizzard. It was replaced by a new building in 1938. The current building opened in 1972. The branch was renamed in 1986 after the late Omaha Star reporter and activist, Charles Washington.

The Schemmer Associates, an architecture and engineering firm, is designing the new building, which will feature the same dark brick and modern look that the current building has. What will be different are additional windows, east and west entrances and a far more colorful interior.

The Washington Branch is one of 10 Omaha public libraries.

It's far from the busiest, but the building is usually full and the number of patrons is increasing. In July, 8,047 passed through the Washington doors - up 1,500 from the year before.

The branch already is used for a variety of community purposes.

Neighborhood groups and other organizations meet there. Classes and a job fair also are held there. And there is typically high demand for the library's 19 Internet-ready computers.

Malik Brown, 10, said the library offers his best shot at using computers outside of school.

"I hardly get on any other computers," said Malik, who comes to Washington at least twice a week. His family lives three blocks away and he often walks there.

Library officials hope current users like Malik will make the temporary trek and that the Gateway building will attract new patrons.

Under an agreement between OHA and the City of Omaha, the city will pay $24,816 to lease the space for a year.

"It solves a problem for us - we did not want to be without a library," said Omaha Library Director Rivkah Sass.

Tony Brown, a library regular, got a sneak peak at the design for the new library last week.

"I think it will be good to expand it," he said.