Mayor, Library and Mall Officials Announce Downtown Library Move to Mall During Construction

The Kanawha County Public Library’s downtown library will temporarily move to Charleston Town Center (CTC) while its current location is being renovated. That’s the announcement today by the Kanawha County Public Library’s Board of Directors, Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin and the representatives of Charleston Town Center.

“Bringing together the Kanawha County Library System and the Charleston Town Center helped to facilitate a mutually beneficial partnership,” said Mayor Goodwin. “Our collective commitment to our constituency will provide members of our community continued access to the library’s resources while the downtown library undergoes a much-anticipated renovation and expansion.”

“We want to thank Mayor Goodwin and Charleston Town Center for their efforts in making this arrangement possible,” said Monika Jaensson, president of the Kanawha County Public Library’s Board of Directors. “Knowing our unique circumstances, the Mayor helped us reach an agreement with Charleston Town Center that may not have occurred without her support.”

Jaensson signed the agreement with CTC at Tuesday news conference and says the library should take over space by early summer.

“We are very excited about this new partnership. The Charleston Town Center location will allow the public to easily access our collection, including online resources, and provide plenty of parking. It also includes enough space for the library’s public service and operational staff,” said Jaensson.

CTC Marketing Director Lisa McCracken said the library will occupy multiple spaces on level two of the Charleston Town Center. She says the KCPL and CTC will confirm the exact locations in the coming weeks.

As part of the “Reimagine Your Library” campaign, the downtown library will undergo a $31.8 million dollar expansion and renovation project beginning later this year. The project will take close to two years to complete.

Jaensson says the contract for construction and renovation of the downtown library building should be completed in the next week. The apparent low-bidder, Paramount Builders LLC, and the library are in the final stages of negotiations.

Once the contract is signed, Jaensson said, KCPL will determine a closing date for the main library building and its subsequent move to Town Center.