Critics of the Central Arkansas Library System's decision to close the Galleries & Bookstore at Library Square later this year because of the upcoming renovations to the Main Library addressed library system board members during a meeting on Thursday.
The Main Library, located at 100 S. Rock St. in Little Rock, is expected to close for up to a year and a half during the remodeling.
With other like-minded opponents in attendance at the meeting, three people took the opportunity to tell board members of their concerns regarding the closure of the galleries and bookstore.
"It is in the area of the convention center, the Clinton library. It is a magnificent facility. We don't need to lose it," said Richard Prewitt.
An artist biography on the library system's website for the galleries says Prewitt adds jewels to components of old pocket watches in order to transform them into "one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry."
"The galleries provided a singular point of access to the creative expression of Arkansans," said Renee Williams, the owner of Gallery 26 in the Hillcrest neighborhood. "This access was open and in the service of literacy in terms of culture, and it was often the only place that underrepresented people and communities could find expression."
"This place means so much to us. Please try to figure out some way to keep the arts here and not make this another empty downtown skyscraper that doesn't have office spaces," said Mike Poe.
Following their comments, Stacey McAdoo, the president of the library system's board, said she had "full confidence that CALS is doing everything in its power to ensure the least amount of disruption of services to the patrons of CALS, especially as it relates to book checkouts and space and services for the unsheltered."
The planned remodeling of the Main Library and related changes are the product of a successful May 2022 referendum on a property-tax levy and associated bond issue.
Voters within the city of Little Rock authorized extending the library system's local capital-improvement millage at a reduced rate while refinancing debt.
At the time, library system officials said the bond refinancing could generate $22 million with which to fund renovations to the Main Library and other projects.
In 2021, library officials merged the bookstore, which was previously housed in the Cox Building, with the galleries inside the Bobby L. Roberts Library of Arkansas History & Art.
Located at 401 President Clinton Ave., steps from the Main Library, the Roberts Library is also home to the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies and the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
Citing its downtown location, the Roberts Library "will be used to accommodate all of these different services that we will be losing when Main is closed for that year and a half," said Tameka Lee, the library system's communications director.
At this point, using the space inside the Roberts Library was the best and most efficient way to keep services available, Lee said during the meeting Thursday.
Library officials hope to have more definite plans to share regarding a timeline and architectural renderings for the Main Library next month, she said. There have been conversations having some kind of art or bookstore space, if not within the Main Library, then possibly at another location at Library Square, Lee said.
Jo Spencer, the library system's director of finance, told attendees that the galleries and bookstore have together lost more than a million dollars from 2016 through 2022. (The net-loss figure only encompasses the cost of goods sold, staff salaries/benefits and minor expenses such as supplies and does not take into account additional overhead expenses.)
Officials must be "good stewards" of taxpayer money, Spencer said.
At the same meeting Thursday, library system board members approved entering into a lease agreement with the Little Rock Port Authority that will allow some 50-60 library system personnel to move into a building at 7773 Sloan Drive in Little Rock while the construction work takes place.
Nate Coulter, the library system's executive director, said the Main Library is expected to close for probably 14-18 months.
Coulter's preference had been to have personnel stay in the building during the remodeling before he was dissuaded by other library directors around the country. Two or three of them had tried to stay during major renovations before giving up, and they encouraged Coulter to "get out," he told board members.
The Sloan Drive building is located just southeast of Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field.
The library system is set to pay the port authority $136,000 for an initial yearlong lease of 32,000 square feet. Under the terms, the library system will have the option to extend the lease or terminate it at the end of the first year.
Personnel expected to move into the Sloan Drive facility are those in non-public-facing roles in areas like finance and human resources, Coulter said.
The building is also expected to host the library system's periodic used-book sale, which resumed last year in the basement of the Main Library after officials had paused it amid the pandemic.
Board members gave approval in a voice vote with no opposition. The port authority's board of directors approved the lease agreement on Jan. 18.