Officials OK Small Steps for Baldwin Library Renovation

Birmingham officials are moving ahead with remodeling plans at Baldwin Public Library, but are taking what they say is a modest approach after voters turned down a $21.5 million construction bond in 2014.

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Approved Monday by the Birmingham City Commission was a $15,000 plan to install a book drop off Bates Street, as well as authorization for the city to seek professional bids for design and construction drawings for a new adult services section that could cost $2.2 million, Hometownlife.com reports.

Also planned are changes to the book shelves to flow with the curve of the Birkerts addition and, possibly, the addition of exterior windows to bring more natural lighting into the room.

In time, library officials want to expand the youth services room on the east side of the building, renovate the main entrance and establish creative hubs, called “maker spaces,” where people can work together to create and invent.

There’s no cost estimate for those project, and several city commissioners on Monday urged the library board to get firmer estimates on the remodeling costs.