By: K. Michelle Moran | Grosse Pointe Times | Published September 20, 2022
GROSSE POINTE WOODS — Renovations to the Grosse Pointe Woods Branch of the Grosse Pointe Public Library are now complete.
The library celebrated its grand reopening with a ribbon-cutting and tours Sept. 9.
Improvements include the Dream Lab, a basement makerspace with a digital printer where users can craft their own 3D creations; a small recording booth in the basement for creating podcasts or music; a first-floor lounge with the latest book and movie releases that will double as a more visible used bookstore for the nonprofit Friends of the Grosse Pointe Library; a laptop/tablet bar on the second floor; and enhanced safety features on the stairs to protect youngsters. In addition, the library has all-new lighting.
Library Director Jessica Keyser said they had originally hoped to reopen the Woods branch in May, in advance of the closure of Central Branch in Grosse Pointe Farms this summer for its own renovations. She said the delay was entirely due to supply chain problems. Keyser said they couldn’t get the new lights and some other key items in time to complete the work sooner.
“All of the lighting has been upgraded to LED, so they’re more energy efficient,” Keyser said.
She said there’s a new checkout area, new furniture, new paint and new fixtures, as well as new seating areas for children and adults. The children’s area of the library also has an interactive wall, Keyser said.
The new first floor lounge includes a living wall of plant material that Keyser said will filter out pollutants.
She said the new makerspace in the basement “is a manifestation of what people want to see in the library of the future.”
The exterior has new landscaping and pavers, Keyser pointed out.
“It really is like a dream come true,” Keyser said. “It’s bright and cheerful and welcoming. It’s everything we hoped it would be.”
Grosse Pointe Woods City Councilwoman Vicki Granger was on hand for the reopening. She is a former GPPL Board trustee, one of the original members of the nonprofit Grosse Pointe Library Foundation and an officer with the Friends of the Grosse Pointe Library.
Granger, who grew up in Harper Woods in the section of the city that’s part of the Grosse Pointe Public School System, remembers going to the Woods branch of the library as early as 1955, when she was in second grade.
“I have used this branch since I was a little girl,” Granger said.
Now, she brings her grandchildren there.
“I’m just really thrilled that we’ve got this library open again,” Granger said. “It’s just exciting. Libraries are a jewel in our communities.”
For branch hours or more information, visit www.grossepointelibrary.org.