WMUK News

KPL's Alma Powell branch finds a new, but temporary, location on the Northside

WMUK | By Michael Symonds

Published July 12, 2024 at 10:18 AM EDT

Three men stand on a stage, one at the podium in the middle, another to the far left of the image, and one to the right of the image. A poster sits on a stand to the right of the man at the podium, displaying information on the site assessment phases for a permanent Alma Powell location. Many community members sit in front of them. — Plans for both a temporary and permanent location for the Alma Powell Branch were discussed at a public meeting Thursday, with the Kalamazoo Public Library working in partnership with the Northside Association for Community Development to open the temporary location.

Northside residents have spent months without the Alma Powell library, and now the Kalamazoo Public Library is asking them to wait a bit longer for a temporary fix.

Months after it closed the branch serving Kalamazoo’s Northside,
the Kalamazoo Public Library announced it’s found a temporary home for the Alma Powell library.

For over 30 years, the Alma Powell branch served the neighborhood at the Douglass Community Association. But after a conflict over new security measures, which the KPL said conflicted with laws protecting patrons' privacy, the branch closed in February. The decision blindsided many Northside residents.

Now the library says the Alma Powell branch will reopen at 308 West North Street temporarily. KPL’s Interim Director, Michael Cockrell, says the move will take some time.

“There's a long way to go. We have to make it ADA-compliant and ready for library service. That will take some time. We hope to be working on construction throughout the summer.”

Three people stand in a circle discussing the new temporary Alma Powell Branch location. Two of the attendees can be seen smiling as they converse. A sign reading "Alma Powell Branch, Kalamazoo Public Library" can be seen above them, with a portrait of the branch's name sake sitting on the wall on the right of the image. — Attendees, including former Northside Association for Community Development director Mattie Jordan-Woods, left, were able to tour Alma Powell's temporary home. It sits just across the road from the NACD, where the meeting was held.

KPL also announced plans for a permanent location for Alma Powell, but added that it was still years away, leaving some attendees frustrated.

Mattie Jordan-Woods is the former longtime director of the Northside Association for Community Development.

“The community is saying, we cannot afford for you all to have a seven-year project," Jordan-Woods said.

KPL spokesperson Farrell Howe understood the frustration of the community, but she said KPL is working hard to fast-track the plan.

“We want to deliver on a high-quality branch for this location, and we want to do it as quickly as possible. We don't want to ask the community to be patient with us, because they've already been so patient with us.”

Michael Symonds reports for WMUK through the Report for America national service program.

Corrected: July 15, 2024 at 11:54 AM EDT

An earlier version of this story said Alma Powell's new temporary location was located at 380 West North Street. The correct location is 308 West North Street.