On a Friday morning in March at the Licking County Library branch in Hebron, a woman was standing at the checkout desk, arms stacked high with books to read with her grandchild, while a man pulled his big black truck into the parking lot, arriving to sign himself up for a library card.
And that same Friday morning at the Licking County Library branch in Buckeye Lake, a man walked in to use the computer – the staff greeted him by name – and children colored and played with Legos in the kids section.
And on that same Friday morning, about an eight-minute drive from the Buckeye Lake library branch, a storefront in the Arrowhead Shopping Center sits empty. Some day, that storefront will be home to a combined Hebron-Buckeye Lake library branch, and the two separate branches – located on West Main Street in Hebron and Walnut Road in Buckeye Lake – will close.
But when?
When Licking County Library announced a merger of the Buckeye Lake and Hebron Branches via social media on March 20, 2024, the library indicated the new branch – dubbed the Lakewood Branch – would open its doors in “late 2024.”
More than one year later, the new branch is still not open, in part because development across Licking County has hampered new projects, Licking County Library Executive Director Julia Walden explained.
“We have been informed that the high volume of construction work in central Ohio has made securing engineers and construction firms more challenging and is resulting in delays to projects across the region,” Walden said.
Projects, including Intel’s $28 billion chip manufacturing facility in western Licking County, housing developments, power generators, data centers and more have sprung up across Licking County in recent months, contributing to the need for more engineers and construction firms.
Currently, there is no confirmed timeline for the opening of the new Lakewood branch, though Walden expects that to change soon.
Their architecture firm, Schooley Caldwell – the same firm that completed the recent Newark Arcade renovation – encountered difficulties in securing an engineer.
Read more: Hundreds flock to see renovated Arcade and indoor farmers’ market
The construction drawings, currently at 98% completion, were presented to the Licking County Library Board of Trustees at the regular board meeting on March 19. The board approved advertising for a Request For Proposal, so general contractors can bid on the project. The advertisement will go out when the construction drawings and all necessary legal documentation is complete.
Walden emphasized the delays were outside of the library’s control.
“Anytime you’re doing any kind of construction, delays are an issue,” said Buckeye Lake Mayor Linda Goodman. “Sometimes permitting is a slow process and then getting your funding in place is, of course, number one.”
Until the new branch is complete, both the Buckeye Lake branch and Hebron branch are expected to remain open.
The new branch will be located in a shopping center called Arrowhead Shopping Center off Interstate 70 in Hebron, which will offer visitors increased resources such as a large multi-purpose room, enhanced collections and expanded hours.
Walden said the library had been looking into merging the Buckeye Lake and Hebron branches due to factors like space constraints, the decline in use of the Buckeye Lake location and to reduce the amount of services being duplicated, since the two locations are only two miles apart.
“By merging the two locations, the library will be positioned to better reallocate resources, both financial and operational, to meet growing needs throughout our service district,” Walden said.
The new branch is named Lakewood, after the local school district which combines both the Buckeye Lake and Hebron communities.
Last March, Goodman encouraged the board of trustees to reconsider their decision. Although she says she’s had good conversations with the board regarding the merger, her stance on the decision hasn’t changed.
“It will have a huge impact on our community. We have a lot of senior citizens and kids that use our library,” Goodman said. “The library is such a vital resource for so many here. They used to have quite a bit of programming for kids and book clubs for adults and seniors, and it was just kind of a social hub for some folks in the village.”
Goodman emphasizes that with the new location, the library will no longer be walkable to Buckeye Lake residents.
“It’d be a very dangerous walk for them to walk from the village of Buckeye Lake into Hebron,” Goodman said.
Goodman and the village of Buckeye Lake are sad to see their library go.
“It’s been a wonderful asset in our village, and we certainly wish it wasn’t leaving, and we will continue to look for opportunities to fill that void for what people will be missing,” Goodman said.
In Hebron, the library’s new location is on the far east side, as opposed to its current location on the far west. Hebron Mayor Valerie Mockus explained that although some Hebron residents are distressed about the merger, residents also recognize that the library is just switching from one end of town to the other.
Currently, the Hebron branch is located in the back of the Hebron municipal complex, not necessarily visible from the road. With the new location near Kroger and visible from the road, Mockus hopes it will be more frequented.
In the shopping center, the library will be sandwiched between a real estate business and a local bar.
Mockus explained the Tap Room, the local pub, is not a rowdy bar.
“It’s definitely a neighborhood pub,” Mockus said. “I go there and hear people talking about everything from politics to the school district to football games. It’s just a local kind of hangout. … It’s locals who know each other by sight.”
Mockus hopes the new location will be utilized and exist as a welcoming space, as she highlights that the libraries have a lot of resources to offer.
“There are so many communities in the county that don’t have a branch, or who have never had a branch. We’re very lucky and fortunate for that and I hope people will take advantage of it so that we can continue to be eligible to have a branch in our community,” Mockus said.
Walden said the library has received much more positive feedback regarding the merger recently.
Ella Diehl writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.