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Ypsilanti District Library Breaks Ground On Its Next Chapter

Ypsilanti District Library
Ypsilanti District Library
/
ypsilibrary.org

The Ypsilanti District Library will finally break ground on a new Superior Township branch, and the public is invited to the groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday, April 7th.  Lisa Barry talks with Sam Killian of the library system about how this new facility has been a long time in the making and how the community will benefit.
  

After Superior Township joined the Ypsilanti District Library in 2006 by a vote of the people, YDL opened a temporary branch in one room of a fire station on the corner of MacArthur Boulevard and Harris Road.  YDL planned to build a full-service Superior library branch shortly thereafter.
  

Ypsilanti District Library
Credit Ypsilanti District Library / ypsilibrary.org
/
ypsilibrary.org
Harris Road view of the temporary YDL Superior branch.

In 2018, voters overwhelmingly approved an additional .7 mills of funding for YDL, enough to operate the new facility and restore the library’s savings once the branch was built.  Superior Township leadership supported the library millage and pledged a parcel of land within walking distance of the existing “temporary” library, just north on Harris Road. 
 

Ypsilanti District Library
Credit Ypsilanti District Library / ypsilibrary.org
/
ypsilibrary.org
Front entry render of the YDL Superior branch.

  
The new 7,800 square foot library is expected to open in the summer of 2022.  It will be a full-service branch with the same hours of operation as YDL-Michigan, and will have its own dedicated staff.  It will feature a community meeting room that can seat 50, dedicated youth and teen areas, 20 public computers, two group study rooms, an accessible learning garden, and more. 

 

Ypsilanti District Library
Credit Ypsilanti District Library / ypsilibrary.org
/
ypsilibrary.org
Floor plan for YDL Superior branch.

  

This will allow local organizations, like the Parks and Recreation Department, United Way, Washtenaw Literacy, and others, to reach residents with vital services.  We will be able to offer services like our free summer lunch program, vaccination clinics, tutoring, tax help, and more, as well as serve as a community warming and cooling center.

Former State Representative David Rutledge, a neighborhood resident and friend of the project, and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell will attend the groundbreaking.  It will be livestreamed, thanks to the sponsorship of Bank of Ann Arbor.

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— Lisa Barry is the host of All Things Considered on WEMU. You can contact Lisa at 734.487.3363, on Twitter @LisaWEMU, or email her at lbarryma@emich.edu

Lisa Barry was a reporter, and host of All Things Considered on 89.1 WEMU.
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