The Indianapolis Public Library’s Brightwood branch broke ground Nov. 20 on a new 15,000-square-foot building that will offer the community more meeting space, a larger collection of books and new technology. The new location will be across the street from the branch’s current spot on North Sherman Drive and open in the fall of 2019.
The Brightwood branch became the sixth Indianapolis public library when it opened in 1901 on North Station Street, and it has been in a rented space since 1972. The needs of the community are outgrowing what the building can offer, according to Elaine Bolden, vice president of Brightwood’s neighborhood association.
“It was just time,” Bolden said. “We’re sure that it’s going to help with changing the face of our community.”
A new building for Brightwood is part of a series of projects the Indianapolis Public Library is taking on in the near future. The Flanner House Branch is closing Nov. 21 and moving to Michigan Road, and the Eagle Branch is moving to a larger facility on Moller Road in 2019.
The new location will have a larger collection of books, more activities for teens and kids, three study rooms, two rooms for community meeting space and a computer lab with classes and a job-search assistant, according to branch manager Rhonda Oliver. Brightwood’s current location doesn’t have a formal computer lab, instead making do with 17 computers in a makeshift room. Patrons also will have access to free Chromebooks that Oliver said can be rented out in 21-day increments like books.
All of this adds up to large-scale changes for a smaller neighborhood branch, which has fewer resources than regional branches such as the Nora and Pike branches.
“We do a lot with what we have because we’re a neighborhood branch,” Oliver said. “But in comparison to other locations, we’re limited in staff, we’re limited in variety of things we can offer, we’re limited in space for people to spend time at the library.”
The project will cost $5.9 million, according to the Indianapolis Public Library’s press release and is funded by individual bonds approved by the Indianapolis City-County Council, meaning there won’t be an increase in the library’s debt service tax rate.
That the Brightwood branch is still open is no small feat. When the Indianapolis Public Library ran into financial troubles during the Great Recession in 2008, Brightwood was one of the branches that suddenly had an uncertain future. There weren’t formal considerations of closing it, but residents knew it was a possibility.
Josephine Rogers, executive director of the Martindale-Brightwood Community Development Center, led a group of children to a city-county council hearing to show their support for public libraries.
“We had a movement to keep the library open,” Rogers said.
That same community guided the conversation when the library was deciding what services would show up at the new Brightwood branch. Oliver said the main concerns she heard from residents during community meetings included having a quiet space for seniors, a special area for teens and more meeting space for neighborhood organizations.
“The community has made their voice heard by telling us what they desire,” Oliver said.
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
New Library Building Projects
• Brightwood Branch: Moving to east 25th Street and Sherman Avenue, opening fall 2019
• Eagle Branch: Moving to 3905 Moller Road, opening spring 2019
• Flanner House Branch: Moving to 6201 Michigan Road, opening fall 2018
• Glendale Branch: Relocating, opening 2022
• Wayne Branch: Renovations to be completed in 2020
• Lawrence Branch: Renovations to be completed in 2020
• New branch: West Perry, opening 2019
• New branch: Fort Benjamin Harrison, opening 2021
ground breaking
