LYON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — Lyon Township has a new library, and it is already becoming a gathering place for the community.
Four years after voters approved a $13 million bond, the new Lyon Township Library is open, more than three times the size of its previous home.
Library Director Holly Teasdle said it took years to reach this point. Millages failed in 2004 and 2016, and a pandemic pause further delayed the project before voters finally approved the $13 million bond in 2022.
Teasdle said, in the meantime, they focused on increasing users by expanding their collection and events at the previous space.
"The community believed in the project this time around, and here we are," Teasdle said.
The new 19,000-square-foot building features study rooms, an outdoor reading area, a large event space, a genealogy room, a teen room, a seed library, and a youth event space. The library also recently received a $25,000 grant to add a makerspace.
"Our library was so small that there was no place to sit and enjoy or have an area for kids to play," Teasdle said.
Library user Jasmine Sauls said the new space has quickly become part of her family's routine.
"We've been here maybe three times since it's opened," Sauls said. "It's been a long time coming, waiting for this library."
The children's area includes a Lego table, a light-up sensory wall, and plenty of space to relax.
Library user Devon Rowland said the added space has changed how people use the building.
"People have the space to just kind of hang out for a while now, too, whereas before you just kinda came, you got your books, and left," Rowland said.
Teasdle said the library is already seeing an influx of visitors.
"What we want it to be is the community's living room," said Teasdle. "We want to be the community's third space where people go when they're outside family and work, that we're providing entertainment and we're providing information. A place to come in and enjoy."
Rowland said her family has been making regular visits.
"We joined the summer reading program so we've been coming every week," Rowland said.
Lyon Township is also working on plans to add a park to the library site, creating more experiences for the growing community.
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