Wylam Library Hosts "Closing" Ceremony on April 26 to Make Way for New Building

Elected officials, area residents, Birmingham Public Library employees, library board members and community partners will gather at the Wylam Library on Friday, April 26, to participate in a "closing" ceremony at 10:00 a.m. to mark the building's past as supporters prepare for the construction of a new building.

The library's address is 4300 Seventh Ave., Wylam.

 The library will officially close at 6 p.m. on April 26. Between April 29 – May 1, employees will pack boxes for the move. And even though the library will be closed next week, the library staff will offer after school programming next week for children, said Birmingham Public Library Executive Director Floyd Council.

Demolition is expected to start in May. The old, 2,000 square foot building will be replaced with a new, 6,000 square foot building. The new library is slated to open in January 2020.

"I'm happy to see this $1.6 million project finally become a reality. The residents of Wylam have waited a long time to see a new library, and I'm glad that we can provide it for them,'' said Mayor Randall Woodfin. "This new building will feature a covered, outdoor patio; a reading room; a meeting room; work rooms; and landscaping. The sidewalk will be replaced on Seventh Avenue and there will be a new parking lot."

Friday's event will allow community members to reminisce about the old Wylam Library. Its first location was at the Wylam Fraternal Hall in 1921. Later, the library saw other locations up and down Seventh Avenue and Huron Street in Wylam. The library found its final home at its current location in 1962.