Baldwin Public Library Renovations Moving Forward

Editor's Note: In November 2011, Bloomfield Hills residents narrowly passed a a 0.39-mill levy to fund a three-year contract with the Baldwin Public Library, giving them a library to call their own after several years and two previous millage attempts.

Officials with the Baldwin Public Library will move forward to the next step of their renovation plans following the Birmingham City Commission approval of the library's "Building Program." The

document that outlines what Baldwin Public Library will hopefully look like in a few years, as well as how it will be used.

Commissioners also gave Baldwin the go ahead to look for an architect to create conceptual drawings and determine cost estimates for the renovation project.

"In the saga of the library building, we've come a long way," Baldwin Director Doug Koschik said, "and we have a long way to go."

Koschik said Monday that if everything goes according to plan, the library won't be returning to the city commission with a final renovation plan until the end of the year.

This is only one step in a long process for Baldwin Public Library. The last comprehensive renovation of Baldwin happened 30 years ago.

Last spring, Baldwin worked with the city to form a joint committee charged with investigating renovation plans and soliciting feedback from the communities Baldwin serves, including Birmingham, Beverly Hills and Bloomfield Hills.

Last summer, the library collected this feedback via a community survey and held several focus groups, eventually resulting in the Building Program first approved by the joint committee on Dec. 4 and then the Library Board on Feb. 18.

Next up, Koschik said the RFP will go out in March and the library will receive bids in April and choose an architect in May. At the end of the year, after several months set aside for review, the city and library will decide whether to move forward and actually renovate.