Friends of the Library Preps for Transition

As the Ann Arbor District Library moves forward on its ambitious project to raze the downtown building and put up a new library on the Fifth & William site, a nonprofit that supports the AADL ponders its own future.

Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library, or FAADL, is best known for the shop it runs on weekends in the basement of the downtown library, raising money to support the AADL. The group has built a real sense of community there, with long-time volunteers and regular shoppers greeting each other by name as they staff the cashier table or browse the shelves, boxes and tables full of books, DVDs and other materials.

There’s a great deal of affection for the space – it feels more like something you’d find in a school or church basement – but it’s also cramped and subject to the kind of infrastructure problems you’d find in any aging building.

A bookstore/café will be part of the new library, and unlike the current Friends store, which has very limited weekend hours, the new store will likely be open during the same hours as the regular library, says Janis Detlefs, FAADL director.

Before then, the group’s board of directors will be making some big decisions, including what to do during the period – possibly as long as two years – between when the old building is demolished and the new one is completed.

Board members have been fact-finding, and will meet on Oct. 22 to look at their options, says board president Pat McDonald. They need to make contingency plans, even though it’s unclear when they’ll need to act, she says: “We’re in that exploration stage.”

One option is to find temporary space and remain open. Another option is to operate by selling books only online – the group already sells some of its rare books on eBay. Or the Friends might hold periodic sales, similar to the approach of the Ann Arbor University Women book sale.

“We’re looking at a lot of different possibilities,” says Detlefs. “We might just lay low for two years.”

Also in limbo is the timing of its popular spring bag sale, typically held in April. The date hasn’t been set yet because it’s unclear what the library’s construction schedule will be. Library officials are expected to ask voters to approve a new millage for the project, which could be on the ballot as early as February 2009.

The Friends will be actively supporting the millage and helping fund the campaign to get it passed, McDonald says.

When the new library building is completed, there’ll be some storage space for the Friends as well as the bookstore. But the space for both will be considerably smaller than what they have now. That will mean some changes for the Friends, which typically takes in and sells 200,000 books annually.

“I was down there sorting this morning,” says McDonald. “It’s a phenomenal number of books that come in there.”

The Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library store is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1-4 p.m.