Library Purchases Land

The Racine Public Library Board of Trustees has announced the purchase of approximately 35 acres of land located at Spring Street and Newman Road. The land will be used for the future construction of a second library facility. The $1,199,056.99 price of the land was paid for with library trust funds.

The board will now begin the process of creating a funding structure to provide library service to the residents of Caledonia, Elmwood Park, Mount Pleasant, North Bay, Racine, Sturtevant, and Wind Point, all current users of the Racine Public Library's downtown facility and mobile library.

For more information, please contact Jessica MacPhail, Library Director, by phone at 262-636-9252 or by email at Jessica.macphail@racinelibrary.info .

LIBRARY BOARD VOTES TO MAKE OFFER ON LAND FOR BRANCH SITE

The Racine Public Library Board of Trustees has voted to make an offer to purchase all available land not being used by the Racine Water Utility bordered by Spring St, Newman Road and Green Bay Road in the Village of Mt. Pleasant, for the purpose of pursuing the construction of a regional library to better serve the greater Racine community. “This is a crucial first step toward reaching our goal of establishing a second location for the library,” says Board President Theron Snell. “We have been working and looking forward to this for a long time.”
The library board is grateful for donations towards this project, including funds set up with bequests and legacies from former library patrons. These funds have been invested for capital appreciation and cannot be used for ordinary operating expenses such as salaries and utilities. The library has established the Racine Public Library Foundation, a tax-exempt, 501(c)3 organization charged with raising funds for the library.
The location of the land at Spring and Newman is an ideal setting for an additional library location. The Mobile Library has very active stops nearby, making this a solid choice for a facility serving the western half of the library’s service area. The library serves about 140,000 people in Racine County east of I-94 between Kenosha and Milwaukee Counties. The board’s offer to purchase is going to the Racine City Council for action. The City Council meets on Tuesday, October 7, 2008.