Library Extends Lease for Archives Storage

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At its Dec. 16, 2013 meeting, the Ann Arbor District Library board voted unanimously to approve a one-year lease extension with Green Road Associates for storage of newspaper archives. The annual rate of $38,500 is for a period beginning Jan. 1, 2014.

The library has leased the Plymouth Park facility – an office park owned by First Martin Corp. on Green Road, north of Plymouth – since January 2010. That’s when AADL took possession of the Ann Arbor News archives, a few months after the owners of that publication decided to cease operations. The original lease was for a two-year period at $38,000 annually. In November 2011, the board approved a one-year extension, also at the $38,000 annual rate. No extension was brought to the board for approval in 2012.

The library is digitizing the Ann Arbor News archives, along with material from other local newspapers, as part of a project called Old News. For additional background, see Chronicle coverage: “Ann Arbor Library Set to Publish ‘Old News.’”

This brief was filed from the fourth-floor boardroom of the downtown Ann Arbor District Library at 343 S. Fifth. A more detailed report will follow.