OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The Omaha city council will make the final decision about whether or not the downtown library should be moved. But first, they're hearing from library patrons.
Last week, the Omaha Public Library Board of Trustees approved the rental agreements to move Omaha's downtown library branch to 1401 Jones and temporarily rent the old Shopko on 84th St. to house administrative services.
On Tuesday, Kevin Anderson, Mayor Stothert's deputy chief of staff, said moving to the new spaces would be a great opportunity for the library.
“Having these two available spaces, kind of feels like the stars aligning or planets aligning to allow us to take advantage of this opportunity and make a very transformative change for our library system as a whole," Anderson said.
Library Director Laura Marlane said the current W. Dale Clark Library makes it difficult to run their operations.
“We are fighting against awkward workflows and constantly challenged by technology in a building that just does not cooperate with wifi," Marlane said. "These changes would really be remarkable for the library and allow us to continue to deliver services in the historic Old Market.”
Others say the process of finding a new library location is being rushed, and they don’t like that freeing up valuable property by the Gene Leahy Mall is part of the decision process.
In an exclusive report from the newly-launched, non-profit news website the Nebraska Examiner, their investigators report that the coveted lot will be bought by Mutual of Omaha.
"Memorial Park obviously sits on valuable land; why not bulldoze that so we can build Village Pointe 2?" said one opponent, Pete Faye. "Why not cement over Standing Bear Lake to make way for a few more Casey's gas stations?"
The city council will consider the rental agreements, which would start the moving process, again next week.
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