YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County trustees' vote to proceed with plans to build a new library branch in Struthers is vital to the community, its mayor said.
In Struthers, the library is part of the village, Mayor Catherine Cercone Miller said.
"They help raise our youth," she said. "It's not so much about books for the city of Struthers. It's more about the connection and the knowledge that you get from feeling like you have a place to go and you have a place to belong."
And it being part of downtown will tie things together with other improvements that are completed and underway, Miller said.
"It's just a vital part of our community," she added.
Library trustees voted Thursday to relocate the branch at 90 Poland Ave. It was built in 1957, making it the oldest of the 13 branch locations. The main library in Youngstown opened in 1910 but underwent extensive renovations a few years ago.
Aimee Fifarek, PLYMC director and CEO, said the trustees' vote follows what's in the library's strategic plan.
"The recommended strategy has been to build a new facility in Struthers," she said. "The current facility, while very solid and well built, doesn't have any room to expand because it's built on all sides."
It's also not as visible in the Poland Avenue location as it would be if it's closer to downtown.
"And because of the construction - it's made of concrete block - even if we had space to renovate, it would be very costly to do things like move walls because of the way it's built," Fifarek said. "So the decision was to secure a new location, build a new facility and then repurpose the current facility for our community engagement team."
The library rents space on South Avenue in Boardman to house those operations. The community engagement team oversees out-of-building projects, including the pop-up library and special delivery service. Those staffers present programs and take materials to people who can't come to the library, such as residents of nursing homes and assisted living centers.
A garage would be added at the Poland Avenue location to house vehicles used by those personnel, and the CEO said the large parking lot affords adequate space for that.
Miller has been in touch with the owner of two parcels near Yellow Creek Park who she says wants to donate them for a library.
"One of the things that I think went through the master plan with the library was that people wanted more outdoor programming, and what is better than literally being conjoined to Yellow Creek Park?"
However, there haven't been discussions between that property owner and library officials. That's expected to happen soon.
"I and my team will be working through Mayor Miller and the rest of the team there to connect with the donor and have those conversations," Fifarek said.
Assuming the library acquires the land, the next step would be contracting with an architect, something requiring trustees' approval.
"And at that point, we will expect to do community engagement around what the community wants to see," Fifarek said. "So we have some of that information in the master plan. We know that people generally are interested in quality outside spaces, reading gardens and outdoor activity spaces."
She pointed to work done by the city to revitalize the Mahoning River. "So I would imagine those are going to be specific themes in there," Fifarek said.
The cost of a new Struthers branch was estimated at $6.8 million, but that was about a year ago so it could increase. An estimated timeline, which Fifarek said is subject to change, lays out a mid-2027 construction start and January 2029 grand opening.
Miller was still emotional, talking Friday morning about the new branch in her city. Her mother, who died shortly after Miller's 2019 mayoral victory, was an avid book reader.
"She grew up in Teaneck, N.J., and she spent most of her life at the library down the street," she said. "She walked there and back every single day and had a little corner that she stayed in to kind of escape reality sometimes."
There are a lot of improvement projects happening in Struthers, but the move to build a new library branch is different for Miller.
"This project is very personal because of the relationship that my mother had with libraries, and I'm just so excited to be a part of the process with the library," she said.