Meridian’s oldest library braces for change. Can readers still get their books?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Cherry Lane library in Meridian closes for multimillion-dollar renovation.
- Library staff relocates items and operations across branches and mobile services.
- Upgrades include new HVAC, electrical, expanded parking, and children's spaces.
The parking lot is empty and lined with caution tape, but books still flew off the shelves at the Meridian Library District’s Cherry Lane branch.
Inside, roughly 20 library employees worked to move over 80,000 books, some 45,000 more items, plus shelves, computers and furniture out of the district’s oldest branch. For the next year and a half while the nearly 30-year-old library undergoes “extensive” renovations, the books will be distributed to other branches, placed in storage, or retired.
The library, which closed its doors on Aug. 9, will remain closed until winter 2026-27. When it reopens, it will have heating ventilation, air conditioning and electrical upgrades, plus a new interior layout and entry plaza and additional parking, according to the library district’s director, Nick Grove.
“Very little is going to stay the same,” Grove told the Idaho Statesman while walking through the district’s oldest branch, at 1326 W. Cherry Lane.
The Statesman sent a reporter and a photographer to take a last look at the library in its current iteration and to learn what users can expect when services return in a year.
Library upgrades part of $14 million levy
The upgrades are part of a $14 million levy voters passed in 2019 and are estimated to cost at least $9.7 million, according to BuildZoom, a contracting services website.
“The electrical needs of 1996, when this was designed, are significantly different than they are in 2025,” Grove explained. “The load that we put on our electrical system is beyond what’s available,” he said, in part because of a greater use oF technology. “And then the HVAC system itself ... it’s very old and it’s held together with prayers.”
Grove said that to replace the HVAC, electrical and fire systems, the walls of the library need to be opened up in a way that made keeping the library open impossible. They’ll also the take the opportunity to create a central service desk, add more space for staff, and build a new entrance on the east side — with additional parking.
“We took aspects of what has worked well at Orchard Park, what has worked well at Pinnacle, and incorporated those in,” Grove said, referring to the district’s two newest branches.
For example, they’ll add sensory spaces to the children’s areas. They’ll rip up the old carpet that now lines most of the library. There will be some new carpet in the revamped version, but not entirely, Grove said.
“We’re trying to keep some old library charm of the building, but also updating,” he said.
According to permit documents filed with the city, other new features include:
- A holding room for books that will be open 24 hours.
- A new staff entrance and drive-up book drop at the north parking lot.
- More study rooms, classrooms and conference rooms.
- An outdoor children’s play area.
- Improved parking lot signage.
Staff prepare library for renovations
Grove said that during the renovations, the library will distribute the books throughout other branches, add them to the library’s Bookmobile, or put them into storage. Some books will be donated to the Friends of the Library District for sale, but books in disrepair will be recycled, he said.
Everything had to be cleared out before construction could start sometime in September, Grove said, which is why staff were busy moving books when the Statesman visited on Aug. 14.
Cherry Lane branch Director Mary Flamino told the Statesman that the library district had a hiring freeze for about a year to prepare for the temporary closure, and that a few members of her staff have transferred to other branches.
Others will rotate through other branches, work on specific district-level tasks like inventory work or strategic planning, or join a team going out into the community to do programming, such as story times at local parks. The latter group will also work on the Bookmobile and a new sprinter van the district is outfitting to bring library materials such as computers to different locations in the district.
Flamino said staff who have transferred to other branches will remain there even after Cherry Lane reopens. She anticipates the library will begin hiring more people once services resume.
What can readers do in the meantime?
Flamino told the Statesman that readers should keep out of the way of the library for the time being, for safety reasons. But that doesn’t mean they have to hold onto their books and accrue late charges, or stop checking items out.
Returns can be made at any of the district’s other branches and UnBound, the technology services branch, Flamino said. Other branches will remain in service, and the Bookmobile and sprinter van will feature new community pop-ups and events.
Plus, the library can always be visited online and e-materials including books and audiobooks can be accessed through Libby.
