COLUMBUS—Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) celebrates the one-year anniversary of its new Karl Road Branch today.
The branch serves a growing and changing Northland community, equipping its residents – many of whom are New Americans – with the tools they need to succeed. Last October and November, shortly after its grand opening, the branch hosted reporters and photographers from the Columbus Dispatch as part of the then-new Mobile Newsroom partnership with CML.
In 2019, CML completed Phase I of its aspirational building program, which renovated or rebuilt 10 of its 23 locations:
- The new Driving Park Branch opened July 12, 2014
- The new Whitehall Branch opened April 11, 2015
- The new Parsons Branch opened June 4, 2016
- The transformed Main Library opened June 25, 2016
- The new Northern Lights Branch opened Sept. 24, 2016
- The new Shepard Branch opened Oct. 13, 2016
- The new Northside Branch opened June 22, 2017
- The new Hilliard Branch opened June 21, 2018
- The new Martin Luther King Branch opened Oct. 18, 2018
- The new Dublin Branch opened June 6, 2019
The Karl Road Branch project is part of Phase II, which is renovating or rebuilding an additional eight locations:
- The new Karl Road Branch opened Sept. 9, 2021
- The transformed Hilltop Branch opened Sept. 30, 2021
- The new Gahanna Branch is expected to open in 2023
- The new Reynoldsburg Branch is expected to open in 2024
- A transformed Barnett Branch is being planned
- A transformed Linden Branch is being planned
- A new Canal Winchester Branch is being planned
- A new Marion-Franklin Branch is being planned
Great libraries create stronger communities, and each CML location is an essential hub that reflects the unique needs of the neighborhood it serves. Some of the library’s 23 locations are decades old and inadequate to meet the demands of a growing 21st century community. CML will continue to invest in and refresh those library locations not included in its building program to meet its customers’ needs.
The aspirational building program is a multi-phased comprehensive blueprint that reinvents and revitalizes the entire 600,000 square feet maintained by the library. In addition to being a vital community asset, Columbus Metropolitan Library strives to minimize its environmental footprint. With each new building or renovation project, CML plans to use sustainable building materials, incorporate glass for natural light to reduce energy costs and introduce other design and building elements friendly to the natural environment.
Visit columbuslibrary.org for more information and to track progress of CML’s ambitious building program.
