Editorial: Regardless of election outcome, San Rafael’s Carnegie library building needs maintenance now

An important civic priority for cities and counties is keeping the lights on and the doors wide open in their free libraries.

San Rafael is doing just that, but temporarily the city’s downtown library will be moved to 1009 Fourth St., between A and Lootens streets.

The city’s E Street library, first opened in 1909 with the help of a grant from industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, is being shuttered on Sept. 2 for six to eight months for $3 million in repairs and improvements.

Library staff say much of the work is aimed at safety and structural work.

Over the years, the historic library has been through several renovations, including expansion, seismic-safety work and repairs to correct problems with flooding.

San Rafael’s is one of three Carnegie libraries built in Marin. They are among the nearly 1,700 built across the United States.

Mill Valley’s was turned into a home after it was replaced by a new, larger library built at Old Mill Park.

San Anselmo’s and San Rafael’s are still in use.

The closure of the library, however, comes at a time when San Rafael voters are being asked to approve a parcel tax to build a new library and community center.

City leaders have been talking about replacing the old library for years. Backers of the effort, while lacking funding, have said the city needs a more modern library, one that in scope and function is better equipped to meet current and future needs.

Regardless of the fate of the November ballot initiative, the Carnegie library is in need of significant repairs, the kind of work that doesn’t complement the peace and quiet typically maintained in a library.

Librarians aren’t going to have a lot of luck “shushing” construction crews working on the roof, plumbing, electrical systems and heating and air conditioning.

That’s why the city is setting up a “pop-up” library. While the selection will be scaled back from the more than 500,000 books and items available at E Street, users can still ask for items that can be delivered from other libraries and be picked up.

Whether the ballot measure wins or loses, the Carnegie library is not going to be replaced with a new library overnight. Years of planning and construction are ahead if the measure succeeds. Meanwhile, the Carnegie library is going to continue its 115-year role as the city’s library for the more than 500,000 visits its collection and programs host annually. And even if the library is replaced with a new building, the city plans to put the Carnegie building to other public use.

The repairs and renovation that will be taking place are needed regardless of the building’s future use.

The work that will soon get underway.

Joe O’Hehir, a board member of the San Rafael Public Library Foundation, says the work is “long overdue.”

Setting up a temporary library is not an easy task, but credit library staff and city officials with living up to the city’s promise and priority to keeping the library open and accessible.