Walking in the front doors, a lot has stayed the same. The bookshelves are still there. The same librarians smile as patrons enter. The same mid-century charm shines through the gigantic front windows of the library. However it may look on the outside, the space inside has grown and changed over the past months.

Officially reopened in November, the Grosse Pointe Libraries have transitioned away from the Central Annex and back to the Central Library with construction work to expand the back of the library finished. They aimed to mix the mid-century feel of the Central Branch with new adaptations to increase community involvement, according to librarian Mary Lynn Martin.

“What (the library) has done here is we’ve blended the familiar with the new,” Martin said. “We kept this main reading room the same with all the art, like the Calder (mobile) and Kandinsky tapestry, but we bumped out the children’s room, making a bigger space for the kids to come and play with added light.”

The biggest addition to the library was an extended children’s area, which saw the bulk of the construction according to Martin. However, the work didn’t stop there. Another area the library added to was its teen section, which now has its own room designated for middle and high school students.

“Instead of having a one-wall section for the teens, they now have their own room to come in and study,” Martin said. “It’s a nice hangout space for the kids that are 13 to 18.”

A frequent library user, Lauren McDonald ’24 said that she finds the Central Branch’s new features to be helpful when studying.

“It’s just more spacious and it’s more versatile now, especially since they have, like, more rooms for private studying,” McDonald said.

To get into the zone, McDonald said she likes minimal distractions, which is why she finds the new, more private layout to be beneficial to her uninterrupted focus.

“I like the seating and how is spaced out, especially now they have the little study cubbies with,like, a lot of privacy,” McDonald said. “Before, the tables that they had were only out in the open space and (the new layout) is more secluded.”

Agreeing with McDonald, Joey Drawbaugh ’24 said he plans on using the library’s resources in future study sessions.

“The new features make it a lot easier for me to study,” Drawbaugh said. “They just provide me with a lot more research resources to further my knowledge.”

Whenever he wants a break from studying, Drawbaugh’s favorite feature of the library comes into play: the fish tank.
“Whenever I feel stressed out, I love to go watch the fish,” Drawbaugh said. “It really calms me down.”

Even if someone’s not a library person, the renovations have expanded beyond the library’s brick walls. Allowing Grosse Pointe residents to use the library’s resources from the comfort of their homes, the library has gone digital.

“(The library) is trying to also encourage people to understand that we have a lot of ebooks, audio books, and databases that you can use on our website,” Martin said. “You don’t even have to come to the library to use the library.”