On one recent cold morning, visitors to the Rondo Community Library in St. Paul were greeted with a sign on the front door that said: “Rondo Library will be closed Dec. 15.”
News that the troubled library is closing temporarily for renovations has some patrons and city officials worried about the loss of an important community center at University Avenue and Dale Street.
The St. Paul Public Library is using $793,000 to renovate the facility by moving restrooms farther into the entrance while moving the front desk farther up. Library Director Maureen Hartman said the renovations will help the library feel more welcoming.
“Right now, there’s a bit of a gap before you get to the library space itself. And so the area doesn’t always feel like a library,” Hartman said. “So we want to make sure that when folks come into the library, that they’re immediately understanding that it’s the library and that they can get connected to resources.”
Library system spokesperson Stacy Opitz said the renovation is currently in the design phase and there will be a timeline for construction when a general contractor is selected.
Library officials said staff from Rondo will move to the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, at 270 N. Kent St., on Jan. 3. There, patrons can get books, DVDs and computer services.
While the renovations are meant to improve the library, City Council Member Anika Bowie didn’t agree with the closing.
At a recent budget hearing, Bowie, whose district includes the library, said the renovations weren’t worth shutting down the building.
“I do want to make it very clear about this library renovation process. I’ve been disappointed with the lack of collaboration from the start. It’s been really challenging to convey the impacts of the closing of Rondo Library,” Bowie said.
Union leader Isaac Mielke, who heads the AFSCME unit that represents library staff, said Rondo workers and the community have felt left out of the conversation.
“Library staff’s main concern with the renovation is that the staff who actually work at Rondo and know the building and the community have not been involved in the process, and they’re not being listened to. And, frankly, neither is the community,” Mielke said.
Nehemiah Dacres, a St. Paul resident who lives near the library, said he’s not sure how the renovations will help.
“I’m not sure exactly how changing that will make it more approachable. Unless you literally make it so it’s a walk-in restroom with no door, then you can make it,” Dacres said. “I guess that’s really part of the other issue is that I don’t know what they’re going to do.”
Dacres uses the library to rent DVDs and enjoys volunteering at the Rondo Library Black History Month events. He said the library is also conveniently close for biking.
The Rondo Library has had a series of challenges after disruptions associated with the 2020 pandemic and the unrest that followed the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd. From 2021 to 2022, it received one-fourth of the St. Paul library system’s internal incident calls to police.
Later in 2023, the library staff implemented library safety specialists, who offer security and outreach. This summer, the building dropped Saturday and Sunday hours due to public safety concerns and low staffing.
Dr. Artika Tyner, an author who uses the building for book reading events, said the safety issues go back further than 2025.
“Librarians should be able to assist me with research. They shouldn’t be knocking on the bathroom doors and trying to stop drug use. That’s not a library,” Tyner said.
Bowie and Tyner said they want more communication from the library staff about the renovations and how the design will improve safety.
Lynn Overvoorde, a Minneapolis resident, said she didn’t know the library was shutting down. She sometimes comes to the library with her 11-month-old daughter.
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Overvoorde doesn’t feel unwelcome with the current entrance, but she hopes it doesn’t shut down for long.
“I like the space as it is. I mean, I don’t feel unwelcome, I like that there is someone at the door greeting us, the staff are really friendly,” Overvoorde said.
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