Board may have up to six options for Cedar Rapids branch library

The library board may have more options for a west-side branch library than the two it thought it had.

Bob Pasicznyuk, Cedar Rapids' library director, said Thursday that two public forums this month about the library board's plans for a west-side branch library have prompted four property owners or their Realtors to suggest that the board look at their properties as possible library sites.

Pasicznyuk said the ideas include a spot in a former Econofoods store, a former movie theater on the Westdale Mall property and a new commercial development that features a west-side Kohl's store.

The library board has set a deadline of 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3 for inquiries turn into offers.

The board had thought it had narrowed its options to two - one inside Westdale Mall and one in part of a former Target store across the street from the mall.

The west-side branch library has been in Westdale Mall for years, and the library's central operation now is temporarily in the mall and has been since the flood of 2008. Changes are coming, though, now that the central library is under construction and is expected to open downtown in June 2013.

"Whether we stay or leave (the mall with the west-side branch library), I can't see it hurts the library," Pasicznyuk said about the possible new options for a branch site. "We're looking for the best deal. Competition always helps you get a better deal."

The library director said the library board wants a branch library with at least 10,000 to 15,000 square feet of space with possible additional space for a substance abuse information center and dock and warehouse for the center's materials.

He said the library board could make a decision on the west-side branch site in February.