Aimee Fifarek, director and CEO of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, talks about the new family engagement area at the main branch in downtown Youngstown. The area features an open play space....by R. Michael Semple

YOUNGSTOWN — Work to upgrade, modernize, renovate and expand the main branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County continues, yet at the same time, the facility is honoring its storied past by moving closer to one of its core founding philosophies, a longtime library official says.

“We’re going back to the original intention of making it for people,” Aimee Fifarek, the PLYMC’s executive director and chief executive officer, said Thursday. “We’re bringing it back in a new way that will include (more) space that is uplifting.”

The first of three phases of the $27 million renovation project for the 111-year-old building at 305 Wick Ave. began in August 2020, and it is hoped construction will wrap up this summer, Fifarek said. She also noted that the work fell behind schedule because of supply-chain issues, which delayed the delivery of wooden doors by about six months, for example.

In April 2019, Cleveland-based Bostwick Design Partnership was hired as project architect.

Meanwhile, the construction project’s second phase opened to the public Jan. 3 after the library had been closed since late November to prepare the second floor for renovations and upgrades. That leg of the work entails a new computer lab with 36 state-of-the-art computers and an area for patrons to receive computer training and media literacy.

Phase II, which encompasses the second floor, also includes a digitization lab for staff to scan copies of various documents pertaining to local history and genealogy to go online, along with additional shelving for fiction and nonfiction books, a space for general collections materials, a quiet room for people to read and study, and four adjoining study rooms that will contain audio-visual capabilities, Fifarek explained.

A key component of the Phase I renovations is a child- and teen-oriented family engagement area that features an open play space with what resembles a treehouse and is wheelchair accessible. The spacious section also has a children’s collection of books, workspaces, a study area, a room for teen and young-adult materials and a portion for those interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, Fifarek continued.

When it’s finished, an adjacent room will be a do-it-yourself space with sewing machines, a 3-D printer, a loom and a digital die-cutting machine for those interested in quilting, for example. Next to the DIY area will be a small recording studio that, once soundproofed, patrons will be able to use for audio and visual recording, podcasting and editing, Fifarek pointed out.

The library is preparing for the project’s third phase, which will entail the Grand Reading Room on the building’s lower level, along with building a new entrance that faces Wick Avenue and replicates the original stairs and period lampposts that had been removed in 1954.

A renovation in 1996 relocated the entrance to the north side of the library.

At the rear of the building is an entrance that will connect the original library with a new 6,000-square-foot addition that sits on the side parking lot and could be open by this summer. The main features will be a Culinary Literacy Center with a 16-seat kitchen and a large meeting room that will hold up to 125 people, Fifarek noted.

“The culinary space can also serve as a catering space,” she said.

Nevertheless, not all of the work will be inside the original building. The parking lot will be removed and replaced with lawn and greenspace that people will be able to use for a variety of outdoor events. A larger lot is behind the library off Rayen Avenue, the director said.

Fifarek added that she’s pleased the plans are moving forward, despite pandemic-related setbacks and delays. She also touted the fact that the library will have more open seating and a greater number of meeting rooms, a throwback to the past.

“Creativity and a sense of wonder are part and parcel of libraries,” she said. “We want you to think that anything is possible.”

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