LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville Free Public Library (LFPL) system is making the most of its $23 million budget Metro Council approved for the next year. Among many expenses the money will pay for, there are some projects for "underserved" neighborhoods, like improvements to the Portland branch.
What You Need To Know
- Louisville Metro Council funded LFPL by about $23 million for the next year
- That will include several projects for branches in neighborhoods that have been underfunded before
- Improvements to the Portland branch, one of the smallest and oldest library buildings, will cost $2 million
- Other library improvements are in the works
When you walk through the front door of the historic Portland library branch, you can also see the back door. The library is pretty much a room, plus a separate auditorium. However, size doesn't matter to the people who visit here every day, like Timothy Beamus.
Beamus doesn't have internet access at his home, so he visits the same corner to use a computer just about every day. On Monday, he celebrated successfully securing a new job through the library computer and with the librarian's help.
"I got blessed with a job with the city! Yes! Thank you, Jesus," Beamus glowed Monday afternoon. "They print out everything for free. It's great ... it's really helped me out a lot, and I enjoy coming to this particular library."
But some improvements could be made. That's exactly what LFPL Director Lee Burchfield plans to do. There's $2 million set aside to bring the building up to date with wheelchair access. He hopes there can be some expansions in the future beyond that.
"A public library really is this door to opportunity for a community, and I think the greatest sort of sign that we've underinvested in this library over time is the fact that the library is basically the same size that it was when it opened over 100 years ago," Burchfield said.
While he's happy for the spending room for improvements, the full $23 million for all branches still doesn't cover everything he wants to do. There are outreach programs he's dreaming of.
"There's so much our public library system could do if we had more funding to have more staff," Burchfield explained.
The room of a branch in Portland is perfect for Beamus, although he supports an expansion. He found a job here. Next, he's considering renting a book.
"They need more libraries in the world!" he beamed.
It's not just the Portland neighborhood branch where projects are planned. There's also a Phase I set to open a Fern Creek library branch, and the goal to get a Parkland branch reopened.