Changes are coming to Fort Worth Library branches. Here’s what that means for users
By the end of this summer, visitors to one Fort Worth library branch will be able to shop and dine on the same trip.
The Fort Worth Public Library plans to move the Seminary South branch at 501 E. Bolt St. across the street to a former retail space in La Gran Plaza. The City Council will vote April 6 on an agreement that library director Manya Shorr called a win-win for the library system and the mall. A timeline for the move has not been finalized but is likely to take shape over the summer.
For library patrons, the branch will be significantly closer to the Trinity Metro transit hub at La Gran Plaza. The walk across a deserted parking lot and street could be difficult for some library users, especially in the summer, Shorr said. Though the space is smaller, she said the library can use a common area outside the retail location for story time-style programs. Larger performances will be on the mall’s main stage, she said.
La Gran Plaza, somewhat of a de facto community center for south Fort Worth’s Hispanic population, will see the benefit of 80,000 library visitors a year. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, La Gran Plaza was home to several small Latino-owned businesses.
Shorr has been exploring the concept of placing library branches inside retail locations instead of building stand alone branches since she came to Fort Worth four years ago.
“A retail library makes a lot of sense because it allows people to visit the library and then also visit the stores, shops and restaurants that they love,” Shorr said. “Rather than having to load up their car and their kids and drive to a new location, it’s all in one spot.”
Under the agreement, Fort Worth will rent a roughly 8,000 square foot space for $2 a year.
The spot was a RadioShack that became a clothing store. A small amount of work is needed to replace the floor, paint the walls and tear down the changing rooms.
The move is not the end for the Seminary South building, constructed in 1967.
The library’s Genealogy, Local History, and Archives division, currently in the basement of the Central Library downtown, will move into the former library branch.
Most of the archive users are older and have complained about driving to the downtown library, navigating the one-way streets and walking from parking, Shorr said. Moving the division to its own building near Interstate 35W should make accessing it easier, she said.
When the Central Library reopens to the public March 30, all library services will be on the ground floor. The basement needs renovation, Shorr said, and spreading library services across the large building no longer makes sense. For a time the city had considered consolidating the library into a new city hall and then selling the library building. But with the purchase of the Pier 1 tower, the library will no longer be moving.
Along with the downtown branch, the library will reopen six remaining branches to the public March 30: East Berry, Ella Mae Shamblee, Meadowbrook, Northside, Riverside and Wedgwood.
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 5:00 PM.
