Nordonia Hills Library closed for yearlong renovation
by Laura Bednar
Bookworms and browsers will have to adjust to a different method of receiving library resources because the Nordonia Hills branch library closed Aug. 1 for renovations.
The renovations are part of the Akron Summit County Public Library’s “Building Our Future” initiative, in which all 19 libraries in the system will be renovated over several years.
Nordonia was among the first three libraries chosen for renovations, along with Ellet and Tallmadge, due to the roof conditions. Roof replacement was in process before the farewell to the Nordonia library event on Aug. 1. ASCPL Director Michelle Alleman held a town hall followed by a Chik-fil-A buffet, Kona ice truck and face painting and balloon art for children.
She said a 1-mill, 20-year capital bond issue passed in May 2025, which will generate $160 million for the “Building Our Future” initiative. Alleman said roughly $6.8 million is allocated per branch for renovations, aside from Springfield, which will receive closer to $10 million because it is moving from a plaza to a free-standing building.
“The money is only for capital projects,” she said. Prior to the bond, the ASCPL used money from its capital fund for all branch repairs and improvements, sometimes having to use operating funds as well.
“From 2022-2024, we spent $6 million in repairs for branches,” Alleman said, citing things like security upgrades and HVAC systems.
Many branches were built around the same time after the last capital campaign 25 years ago, and Alleman said they were starting to show their age.
“The amount we needed for repairs exceeded what we put aside,” she said. Bostwick Design Partnership performed a feasibility study (available at akronlibrary.org/building-our-future) of branch facilities.
Through online surveys and community engagement sessions, community members voiced what they wanted in a new library. Nordonia’s survey results had a common theme of wanting dedicated study rooms, according to Alleman.
Library administrators, along with the ASCPL facilities director, decided to renovate the branches with library trustee board approval. Alleman said the goal is to “prepare libraries to move into the future and meet the needs of customers.”
The renovated Nordonia library will feature two study rooms suitable for four people each with audio/visual equipment available. The library will also have a dedicated passport room because it is the only ASCPL branch that processes passport applications.
David Hogue, senior associate with design firm Bostwick Design Partnership, outlined Nordonia Hills’ new design. The exterior will have additional parking, energy-efficient lighting, new signage, landscape improvements and accessibility improvements. Nordonia branch Manager Sarah Rosenberger said the outdoor area with the “Guardian of Reading” statue will become a garden with a berm to shield it from the street.
In response to a patron’s question at the town hall, Hogue said a library driveway widening is not planned.
Aside from the study rooms and passport space, the interior layout will remain the same but with new flooring and AV equipment in community rooms, a themed children’s area with engagement pieces and new furniture throughout. Shelving will be repurposed, and the technology hub in the center of the library will have eight new computers.
Acoustic pendants on the walls will absorb sound, and each branch will have a dedicated room for the Friends of the Library group to use and host their book sale.
Hogue said the main structural change will be to adjust the entrance to lead patrons directly to the service desk rather than at an angle.
Alleman said the library’s old furniture will be repurposed or sold through a liquidator. She said the book inventory would remain similar in size. “There are big readers in the community,” she said, noting Nordonia Hills is one of the highest book-circulating branches.
The final bids from companies for the interior construction work were received this summer and the ASCPL board of trustees was set to approve contractors at its August meeting. The Nordonia Hills branch is planned to reopen in summer 2027.
Services on location
Until then, Rosenberger said there will be a book trailer on the library site on Tuesdays from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and the third Saturday of every month from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Nordonia Hills library staff will operate the trailer and be assigned to other locations. Patrons can still pick up holds from the trailer and can browse through popular titles. The outdoor book drop will be open for returns.
The branch will hold programs at various locations. Book clubs will meet at the United Methodist Church of Macedonia and the Macedonia City Center, and board game store MV Games will host Dungeons and Dragons games and Magic the Gathering card nights. The writer’s guild will meet at the Richfield library. See more program listings at akronlibrary.org/locations/nordonia-hills.
For internet access, copiers and fax machines, Nordonia Hills patrons are directed to go to the next closest library location, in Richfield.
Photo caption: Roof work began on the Nordonia Hills Branch Library as part of its yearlong renovation. Friends of the Nordonia Hills Library volunteered at the library’s farewell event before it closed to the public Aug. 1. At the event, families enjoyed face painting, food and visiting with Akron Summit County Public Library mascot, Paws. Photos by Laura Bednar.