The neighborhood of Brookside will be getting a new library.
City leaders helped to ceremonially break ground on the new Bronson Brookside Library that will sit directly next to College Bound Academy along South Madison Place, near Peoria Avenue.
"It has been a long time coming," said Kimberly Johnson, CEO of the Tulsa City-County Library. "Hundreds of people [are] out here to celebrate a public library. Isn't that wonderful?"
TCCL was in a celebratory mood at the groundbreaking, with a live music performance, food and games for kids present.
Tulsa Public Schools, which owns the land the library will be built on, approved the final plans earlier this month.
TPS Board Vice President John Croisant, who represents the district where the new library will be, said the nearby school needs the resources TCCL facilities offers.
"I know College Bound, which is next door, is excited for this," Croisant said, "because they've got limited resources as far as for libraries, computers—so, this expands the opportunities they have."
TCCL announced in May it had raised $9.6 million to replace the current Brookside library, which staff and leadership have said is too small.
Tulsa County Commissioner and mayoral candidate Karen Keith, who participated in the groundbreaking, praised library staff for dealing with a "tiny" facility.
Legal obstacles that slowed the process
The road to get to a new library in Brookside was not always smooth.
In September, a local resident filed a lawsuit in Tulsa County District Court to stop the library in its tracks. The suit was dismissed in May.
TCCL blasted the claims in the lawsuit, which revolved around environmental and crime concerns. In a press statement after the suit was dismissed, library officials said the claims were "not only baseless in fact, they were contrary to our culture and approach to serving Tulsa."
TCCL said numerous community outreach efforts accompanied the new library plans.
