St. Cloud Public Library Temporarily Closed

The St. Cloud Public Library will remain closed until further notice.

On the afternoon of August 17, 2016 approximately 250 patrons and staff were evacuated after a patron set a fire on the second floor of the St. Cloud Public Library. The St. Cloud Public Library is the headquarters for the Great River Regional Library (GRRL) system which has 32 libraries in six counties in Central Minnesota.

All GRRL locations exist through partnerships between GRRL and the hosting cities. GRRL provides materials and staffing. The cities provide the buildings and furnishings. The City of St. Cloud and GRRL staff have been working side by side to ensure the library building and its contents are back to ‘pre-fire’ condition prior to opening to the public.    

While there is not extensive fire damage in the building, some areas of the library, primarily on the 2nd floor, sustained light smoke damage. In a coordinated effort, the City of St. Cloud and GRRL are requesting proposals from qualified restoration companies to provide fire restoration and remediation related services. The St. Cloud City Council will consider the bid proposals no later than Sept. 19, 2016. The GRRL Board will consider the bids at the Sept. 20, 2016 GRRL Board of Trustees meeting. Based on early assessments, our goal is to be open as quickly as possible no sooner than early October.

Due dates and hold expiration dates for items in or checked out from St. Cloud will continue to be extended until one week after the building is open. Until the St. Cloud Public Library is open to the public, patrons may visit any of the other 31 libraries listed on griver.org. For patron questions call 320-828-7722. Open hours have been extended at the Waite Park Public Library and extended hours will begin at the Clearwater Public Library on Sept. 6. All other Great River Regional Libraries will remain open with normal operations.
 
Great River Regional Library (GRRL) provides library services at 32 public libraries in Benton, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright Counties. It provides Central Minnesota residents with nearly 1 million books, CDs and DVDs, 250 public computers, programming and information services.

###