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The Graubner Library, which opened in 2001, is located in Washington Township on land originally donated by long-time library board member and community member Roland Graubner.

“There was a bond issue to pay for the construction. We will be paying it off on April 1,” said Mary Elizabeth Harper, district library director. “The library board will own the building.”

Harper said this means residents in Washington Township, Bruce Township and Romeo will not be paying for the building in their taxes. However, Harper emphasized that residents still pay for library services in their taxes and with the current taxing situation in Michigan, she wasn’t sure how their taxes would be affected.

“Buildings really do have a life of their own,” Harper said. “Buildings are functional organisms as it were. They change, just like people. Things shift, things fall apart.”

Harper said both the Graubner and Kezar branches will continue to shift, change and evolve in the years to come as the services the library will offer shift and change.

“We are a public library that exists to fit specific needs,” Harper said. “As the demands on us change, we have to change at least the interior or in some cases the exterior of the building.”

Among other things, Harper cited card catalogues - or the lack of card catalogues - as a major example of how libraries are evolving and using their space differently.

“Computers get smaller, so we can get more computers into a smaller space,” she said. “We are constantly doing work in both buildings to keep them current. We are doing ongoing maintenance, ongoing repairs. Minor upgrades happen on a fairly regular basis, too.”

Harper said she and the board will keep working to improve the Graubner and Kezar libraries for both residents and employees.

“We are investigating something, too, that is going to cut down on the amount of sun coming into the building from the south and west,” she said. “Anyone who walks in here in the morning knows that the people behind the circulation desk are getting blinded.

“The library board and I continue to look at the building to insure that it is safe, that it is as energy efficient as can be and we are able to provide service from this building.”

The Romeo District Library Board and staff will host an open house at the Graubner Library, 65821 Van Dyke, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on April 3.

The open house will feature refreshments. The board will have its regular meeting at 7 p.m. at the library; visitors are welcome to attend. For more information, call 752-0603.