The Meridian Library District capped its centennial celebrations with a new branch opening in an area of South Meridian expected to be a future hot spot for development.
The Meridian Library at Pinnacle, replacing the now-closed Silverstone branch, offers additional space for staff and programs, according to Nick Grove, the library district’s director. The expansion, made possible by a 2019 levy and a partnership with Brighton Corp., comes a year and a half after a failed petition to dissolve the library district altogether.
Grove told the Idaho Statesman that the branch, which celebrated its opening Monday at the corner of Locust Grove and Lake Hazel roads, “offers so many things that we weren’t able to offer at the Silverstone branch.”
The branch has “dedicated program space, study room space, a more functional space overall, and also a much larger collection,” as well as a 24-hour hold room where patrons can check out or return books outside of operating hours, Grove said.
According to Grove, the branch’s collection totals over 30,000 items, 20,000 of which were transferred from Silverstone and 10,000 newly acquired, with more to come.
New items were selected by the library’s material services department and collection development librarians – a team of four that Grove said worked with a $900,000 budget for the acquisitions.
In the transfer process, a small number of Silverstone’s books – those that had “been through the wringer” – reached the end of their life cycle at the library and were given to the Friends of the Library to be sold, raising proceeds for the library.
‘Ahead of schedule, under budget’
The branch is a culmination of several years of planning, with a major turning point in 2019, when 67% of district voters passed a $14 million levy to fund library improvements and expansions.
But it took less than 12 months of construction from when the project broke ground last October to when it opened, thanks in part to the library’s partnership with Brighton, whose Pinnacle subdivision is adjacent to the new branch.
According to CEO Robert Phillips, Brighton originally planned to donate the land for the library but ultimately decided to follow the project through to its completion.
Phillips told the Statesman that decision was a result of collaboration with the library district. The outcome: construction finished “ahead of schedule, under budget,” he said.
“It allow[ed] us to use our skill set of development and building to make it more efficient, cost-effective, save taxpayers money, and then build something that’s really quality for the community,” Phillips said. “So that was really fun to be able to combine all those things together and have all the different stakeholders come in and be a part of that process.”
LKV Architects and CM Co. also teamed up with the library district on design and contracting work for the Pinnacle branch.
The library’s partnerships were perhaps all the more important in light of last year’s petition to dissolve the library district, an effort led by Concerned Citizens of Meridian. The group’s attempt to bring the petition to ballot was struck down by the Ada County Commission in March 2023.
“That has never deterred us from continuing to move forward with our plans to open these branches and to serve our community, and the numbers of people that come into our locations – all four of our locations – has not only maintained, but grown,” Grove said. “That is a testament to how our community has stood behind us and with us every step of the way, and us with them.”
The Library District estimates that its four branches checked out 1.5 million items, digitally and in person, and served 428,000 patrons in the past 12 months.
Library and Brighton look to growth
“We’re very excited to be in this part of town,” Grove said. “It’s one of the fastest-growing in our community, and we’re here pretty early in the development, and cannot wait to connect with all our new neighbors and be an anchor institution.”
Phillips also expects growth in the area.
“I think Meridian has traditionally pushed west, and I think … we’re seeing more of it pushed south,” Phillips said. “And it’s going to need services … And we will participate in the commercial side as well as the residential side, and help it kind of develop that, to service the needs of that community. And the library is a cool part of that.”
Grove noted the library’s proximity to Meridian Fire Department Station No. 7, which opened in 2023 just east of the library on Lake Hazel Road Road; as well as the development of Discovery Park, a 5-year-old regional park.
“The general outlook of this area is that it’s going to grow quite a bit over the next decade, and being able to get in early allows us to really be at the heart of what’s going on in South Meridian,” Grove said.
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