CANTON − The Stark Main Library downtown is moving temporarily this summer while preparation starts on construction of a new library campus. Main Library services will be moved to the former Nationwide Building at 1020 Market Avenue N. All Main Library services will be closed in the month of August while operations are relocated to the temporary site. The temporary library location will be open and fully operational by September. Demolition of the current Main Library is expected to start in December, with construction beginning in early 2026. The full construction project is expected to take three years and be complete by spring or summer of 2028. Stark Library CEO and Executive Director Mary Ellen Icaza said the new Main Library will function as a central hub for all of Stark County, offering services that aren't available at any other library branches. "We're hoping it will be a destination downtown," she said.
Stark Main Library's temporary location 'will be different'
The short move down the street will be done in phases, Icaza said. Preparation has already begun on the temporary space. Supporting departments will begin to move to the Nationwide Building by the middle of the summer. All of the public services, including collections, shelves and furniture, will be moved during the closure in August. "It will be quite a big operation to disassemble everything, pack it up and move it across the street," Icaza said. The temporary library will have full services for the public and be open normal hours. Features will include two floors of public space with study rooms, meeting rooms and computers. Stark Library is working on plans for the layout of the temporary site. Icaza said the library's architect has been tasked with maximizing the space without significant changes. "It will be different, because we are moving into a space that was intended for other purposes," she said. "(It will have) all of the services our patrons currently use in the existing building, but it will be laid out a little bit differently." Main Library services will operate out of the Nationwide Building during the entirety of construction on the new library. "It's super exciting to get to this next phase in the project and to be one step closer to the new Main Library," Icaza said.
Features of new Main Library and Operations Center
The future Canton library campus — a $66 million project — will include a new Main Library and Operations Center. The existing Main Library at 715 Market Ave. N was built in 1978 and has not been updated since 2001. Construction on the Operations Center began in the fall and will be complete in October or November of this year. The Operations Center will house the facilities department, book processing, mobile services, and cataloguing and technical services for all of the library's 10 locations. "All of our locations depend on those services, so it's really key for us to have that up and running to continue service," Icaza said. New features coming for the new Main Library include an outdoor space with a story walk, a large interactive children's play area, two large meeting rooms, five study rooms, an expanded maker space and recording studio. Icaza said she hopes the new library will become a third space for the community. "Everyone is welcome at the library, and we just want them to be able to come in and see what we provide and offer them," she said. Stark Library is in the second phase of its Re∣imagine plan, which has so far included renovations at the Plain Community Branch, Southgate Branch, DeHoff Memorial Branch, Lake Community Branch, Perry Sippo Branch, Madge Youtz Branch, North Branch and East Canton Branch, and the addition of a new branch library in Jackson.
Designs: Stark Library releases renderings of new main library in downtown Canton, opens a new window
Grace Springer
Canton Repository