Awhile back, unforeseen delays resulted in the new Sequoya Branch Library not being ready to open when the old one had to close, so the neighborhood lacked a library for a month (Watchdog, 10/16/08). "The whole damn city process is slow," remarked library director Barb Dimick at the time.
Now Dimick is attributing delays in the opening of a new South Madison branch library to, you guessed it, her employer: "The city process always manages to make it take a little longer."
The current 3,300-square-foot South Madison branch is moving into a new 12,000-square-foot facility in the same city-owned building, at 2222 S. Park St., that now houses the Madison Urban League. The new library was once supposed to open in June or July (maybe a few folks even said April or May). Dimick now hopes to open in August or September, but adds that September or October might be more realistic.
And what on earth will happen if, as planned, a new Central Library is built on the site of the current one? Dimick is thrilled that this project will add 25,000 square feet of badly needed space. But she says it will also mean opening a smaller downtown facility and finding space for library operations and materials "for about a year."
Better make that "at least a year," just to be safe.