Inside The New Walker Library And What It Unlocks

A new public library can be just another building, or it can become the place where a city’s identity comes alive. That’s the question we dig into with Walker Mayor Gary Carey as the new Walker Library rises in full view and creates buzz everywhere from breakfast spots to the grocery store. You can feel the pride as we talk through the “why” behind the project: Walker had the smallest physical library in the Kent District Library system, and a growing community needed a space that finally matches how people live, learn, and work today.

We walk through what a modern library in Walker, Michigan is being built to do. Think reservable rooms for quiet work, study space for students, strong Wi-Fi capacity, and a podcast room for creators. Add indoor-outdoor spaces that invite you to stay, including a fireplace area and a patio overlooking City Central Park. We also get into the intentional design choices that make it welcoming for every age, from toddlers who need room to play and make noise to adults who want a calm spot to read or decompress.

Then we tackle one of the most surprising features: an e-gaming space designed with skill-building and career pathways in mind, not just entertainment. We also talk candidly about stewardship and logistics, from competing city priorities to the rare win of construction staying on track and on budget, plus what the opening timeline looks like as finishing touches move inside.

If you care about community spaces, public investment, and what libraries are becoming in the digital age, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a neighbor, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

If you have comments about this podcast, or ideas for future episodes, please email us at PODCAST@WALKER.CITY

Transcript

Welcome To Maid In Walker

Nicole DiDonato 0:03

Welcome to the Maid and Walker Podcast. It's the podcast that connects you to the people, the stories, and the ideas shaping our community. From local innovators to everyday change makers, we're diving deep into what makes Walker a great place to live, work, and grow. Now here's your host, Steve Kelso.

Steve Kelso 0:24

All right, thank you for joining me for this edition of the Maid in Walker podcast. Today, joining me, Mayor Gary Carey. How are you today? Good morning. Lovely day out there, isn't it? Gorgeous. Thanks for

Why The New Library Matters

Steve Kelso 0:35

joining me. We want to talk about the library today. So let's get let's get right into the books.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

You and everybody else that seems to be in the Walker area wants to talk about that library. It's uh it has created a buzz that I don't think I've I've seen in in uh in my time living in Walker. Um the uh um had uh somebody approach at breakfast uh this morning uh table us and just and made a comment passing by the table. Library looks great, that sure is coming along. And whether I'm at Meyer, whether I'm at uh you know at Peppermill or I'm at the Walker Barbershop, um Soby Meets, I mean you hear about it every single place. Um it's got it's it's created this this sense of community pride. Um in you know, really when I when I always start with the why and you know, why did we do this? We have the smallest library in the Kent District library system, the smallest physical library. And for a city that's grown, that we have, but it's it's not just grown just in population, we've grown in that sense of community. People feel welcome in Walker, uh they want to come here. There's that level of nice that uh um you know we we take great pride in being known for and how we treat each other, the civility and the respect. And uh we love having people come into our community and uh um you know, and whether even special events, uh whether it's a Memorial Day parade, it's an Easter egg hunt, whatever it may be, we want everybody to come. We hope that you stay. Um, you come and live here at some point, but maybe you work here. But if you're just gonna come visit, come join us. And uh, I think we're taking that same approach at the library and this buzz that this is creating. Um, it's you're seeing the enormity of the building now. And we always say that, you know, we said since we started this project we wanted something that was a nice library, but we want it walker nice. We tend to be frugal with our taxpayer dollars, right? Um, we tend to be very um fiscally responsible in making sure that that what we're doing represents what the community wants because they're they're paying for it. You know, I'm paying for it as a taxpayer uh myself, and I can't think of a better investment. So um it sure is coming along, but now that that these windows are in, and uh some of us maybe now and then get a chance to walk over there and see the inside progress, um, and you're seeing walls being painted. Um uh off the the furniture has been ordered. And uh um I just it just it it's one where you you do get some goosebumps um because it's it's now becoming real. Um it's no longer that big steel structure um exposed in the middle of the winter. It's now enclosed and there's libraries, you can see people working inside. You can see it lit up at night driving by um with all the construction lights inside. Yeah, and uh sure is coming along. It just seems like every um every every couple of days there's some major um you know, major thing that that's done inside. I'm like, wow, that wasn't there a couple days ago, and that that's been completed.

A Modern Library For Work

Steve Kelso 3:20

You know, it wasn't too many years ago where there was a philosophy that, well, the digital's taking over everything, our bookstores are closing, and libraries are just gonna become a thing of the past. But the truth of the matter is they've really changed radically, and the design of this is gonna reflect that. Tell me about that.

SPEAKER_01 3:37

Yeah, and it's interesting, it's it's a great point because like for a book nerd like me, it's not um not just going and picking up the books anymore, um, but it's also to the uh us from a community standpoint. Um, you have high school students coming up there that will be now that they're gonna have all this room available, they're gonna be able to come up there and study. You're gonna have um uh business people that are working from home. They need a break, um, and they can come up there and uh reserve a room uh in a quiet workspace and be able to work. There'll be an indoor, outdoor fireplace and being able to work there or work outside in the patio. And by the way, that patio overlooks City Central Park, which um we we have some very nice parks in our system. That really arguably is maybe that crown jewel um of the crown jewels. Um, that's that view out there is just a million-dollar view um without the million-dollar price tag, and uh um to be able to sit out there with um a laptop um working on a paper, maybe you're working on writing your own book or something. Um uh it just it's there's gonna be so much to be able to do there. Um, we've been very intentional in the the appealing to every demographic that we could think of from it from an age standpoint, um, for the the very young toddlers. Um, there's an indoor-outdoor play area. So that we we've not had that before. That there's a dedicated programming area. Um, it's kind of like a half circle uh uh shaped area outside that comes right off of the indoor play area there. And kids can just be kids, make all the noise you want, have some fun. There's a there's a sense of life that's in there. In the old library, if you did that, if somebody talked too loud, you could hear it in the other side of the room.

Steve Kelso 5:12

Like exactly trouble there.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

Yeah, I feel like it was back in algebra class or something. So um it just that that's the the intentionality of it. It's it's not just a place to go pick up books or to read books, it's a place to be able to go do work, it's a place to interact, it's a place to hold meetings, a place to do podcasts. There's a podcast room in there as well. And being able to do those types of things, that sense of community that it brings. Um, and you don't have to be from Walker to do that. You know, we'd we'd love our community to leverage it uh the most that they can, but all are welcome there. And uh we just that we again we want that sense of community just because of how close we are to Ottawa County, um how much we do with the west side of Grand Rapids. Um, we just we take great pride in in being able to do those things. So I'm I'm just again, you get goosebumps every time you walk through it. Like, okay, something new has progressed today that wasn't there a couple days

E-Gaming And Skill Building

SPEAKER_01 6:02

ago.

Steve Kelso 6:02

I think one of the things that really shows that progression into the digital age is there's a space for e-gaming. Tell me about that. What what does what does that even mean?

SPEAKER_01 6:11

Um so as uh some may know, I'm still a recovering high school football coach. Um uh one of my coaching partners and one of my closest friends uh uh is a uh e-gaming uh uh coach, I think I should guess you call them at one of the big school districts in the area. And um, I've learned from him how popular is sports and that there's college uh scholarship opportunities for this, that they're I mean, for e-gaming. Um for career paths, and and I think I you know mayors have day jobs too. And I work for a uh a software company, and one of those those e-gaming skills, being able to do um, you know, some of the basic, some of the even the coding fundamentals um and so forth, that would be very relevant to uh software development, software enhancement. Talk about a career path there. If we can help them and do, I mean, do this as part of, I mean, and have some fun while they're doing it. Um, it used to, you know, I'd you know, limit, I'd uh the think of the time that was limited playing video games growing up. I mean, you had about this much of a time window. No, you get outside, you get your fresh everything else. There is some merit to some balance here with that because there is there are transferable skills that come out of being able to do that. So um, and it's interesting, the e-gaming room, um, it's not meant to be this thing with big old fancy lazy boy chairs and stuff. Um, you know, it's a rectangular shaped table that goes the length of the room, and on on both sides, um, that you have these monitors and very comfortable chairs um to sit into these monitors, and you can do your e-gaming thing with your headsets on and uh you know do your thing. But um we those are those types of investments as a community. It's not just the career path, career planning standpoint, but we want those high school age kids, we want maybe even those big kids that they have a place that they can call home. Because if we don't make the investments there, uh they're looking for things to do, and sometimes those things that they're looking for do aren't always the best thing. So um for us it's an investment in the community to be able to do that. Um and it goes back to being very unintentional. And we think even flakes seniors, um, maybe they want that quiet space, having that indoor-outdoor programming area upstairs that they can go to. And if they want to just go in and sit and read and decom you know, decompress and inside of a room, reserve one of the rooms and go in there for an hour or two uh and do your thing in there. So um meant to be uh um very cool. Um lot of uh personal touches are being applied inside and uh a little bit more to come on that one. We're not ready to unveil that yet, but uh um we've definitely as a city there's some things that we want to recognize that um um that are related to the history of the city. And uh you'll have some personal touches uh uh coming up here. We'll be able to share as we get a little bit closer.

Funding Choices And Community Value

Steve Kelso 8:52

I'm certain because this project has been going on for a while, I am certain that it has not been without challenges for your staff. But how much fun have these folks had putting those touches on everything, all of the planning that goes into this?

SPEAKER_01 9:07

Well, it and it's um you get to work on that cool factor is about as high as you can get with this. Um, but it it's something because every I recognize as a mayor, every dollar can go at least 20 different places with justification. And um, you know, we're in need of uh always in need of more investment in public safety, police and fire, which is a whole nother podcast. And it, you know, and uh um uh you know, our our roads and infrastructure are extremely important. Infrastructure is um it's the bridges as well, it's the trails. Um so like there's so many places to go, but that sense of community, you can't lose that in his walker. We recognize we have something very special, so we've decided to make that investment there. Um, but there's a measurable return on on that investment that we're making.

Construction Timeline And Staying On Budget

Steve Kelso 9:54

Certainly, certainly. How long's it been under construction? When can I get inside?

SPEAKER_01 9:58

When we started uh November 24. Um, the um we did the uh the groundbreaking. Um we we've moved very quick. Yeah, that is pretty fast. We've had um we've had a number of great subcontractors a part of this. Um Owen Ames Kimball's been the general contractor on this. Um there's a reason they have arguably been the best uh for these types of projects. They they are um they have been absolutely on track, they've been on budget. Um, and um, you know, I I I think that's the the thing that's made this when I think of challenges. Um, you know, we're on the we're we're in the home stretch here. Um we've not had any cost overruns. We've not had um that's amazing. Yeah, and it's in this day and age, it's just right. That doesn't happen. It's kind of a construction. And then to be on track, and we had what are called um uh these wood, they're glue lamps, and they're the big wooden beams. So when the public gets to see the inside of this, you can kind of see them sticking outside a bit, and they're sealed beams, but they're they're big pieces of wood. They're meant to be support structures, but they're also decorative as part of that support um and that functionality. But um, it's really it's compressed wood in there, layers of it in there. That was the one item that if that had not come in on time, that would have delayed a whole number of would have uh been there. So those came in. Actually, I think they came in a little earlier than expected. So kind of check that box that kept things on track. But um, you know, even as of late yesterday, uh, you know, checking on progress, um, we are we just we're all as city staff, we talk about the challenges. We really have not had any. Um, you know, you know, to the um small middle low thing. And I don't mind sharing this, like you know, the uh um that used to be an apple orchard out there, right? Um, and it's interesting because you back in those days, things that got sprayed on apples were not always the best. And um, all that that testing was done on that ground out there, we're we're good. Good. Um, and um, I think part of that, the construction city hall initially probably helped out a lot of that. There was uh maybe old dirt taken out, new dirt brought in back in the um, you know, years past, but um uh whether original construction or renovation, so that has helped a bit. Um so again, we're we could have had all these potential delays. We've really it's just on track on budget and not, you know, windows are good. I mean the glass has come in and uh installed. Um the only thing that I've not seen the and we won't see for a short time here yet is the uh the inside furniture uh come in. That might be the the small thing, but uh we've that's with a couple of different companies. We're we're we're confidently optimistic that that's gonna be on time uh as well, and we'll be able to sit in there in the chairs and at the tables that you would uh when it's open. So um, yeah, it's it's what an exciting

Building For The Next Century

SPEAKER_01 12:41

time.

Steve Kelso 12:41

You know, certainly if you look back across the history of uh libraries, they didn't build Alexandria to stand there for a day. What do you hope this looks like 10, 50, 100 years from now?

SPEAKER_01 12:55

It's a great question because when I think when you think of libraries, you have to think to the kind of the godfather of libraries was Andrew Carnegie. And um that you know, in in uh the back in the early 1900s when he started to donate all of that money that he made, and he was on that push to build these libraries throughout the country. And you can still see some of them are still in use. Yeah, nationwide. Yeah, and um um and they were built, they they were built to last for at least a century, maybe longer. And um, here we are a century you know later, and that these are are coming up on their 100th anniversary or more, and they're they're holding uh, you know, they're holding steadfast. Um we wanted but those there they were these they were bigger concrete type of structures that uh um in some cases uh you know maybe a little different material, but they weren't designed, they were designed for books at the time, they weren't designed for technology because that really wasn't uh you know, obviously a factor then, but it wasn't wasn't also designed for that. The one thing the pandemic has taught us is the importance of community and that being able to gather, um being able to interact with one another. And it it's you know, just like we're sitting right here, and it we might not be doing a podcast, but we're just sitting here and we're we're both looking at uh um in our computers, but we're having a discussion. Being able to do that in there was really not a any type of a thought process for obvious reasons back a hundred years ago. So we're looking at something that is gonna hold us as far as we can see it. Um we we plan for about every technology we can, um, you know, just uh bandwidth and capacity on the wireless. You know, it's right. Are you gonna be able to handle all these people coming in? Um, and uh it's interesting because I just took uh I had a uh series of four high school students that came in and did a uh um they were interviewing uh before the uh for their government class at uh at Kenwood Hills and was able I said, Hey, let's gonna go get a peek so we grab our hard hats and uh vest, and it was after hours. I was able to get them a little bit of a look inside there, what it is. They were dumbfounded. And the fact that they would have a place to be able to go call home to work on homework and work with friends, but that we talk about the like appealing to everybody. We're gonna have people our age that are gonna come there as a because that's and a mix of different ages, absolutely exactly. And I just being able to do that, and I I it that's the strength of community. When you have people that are different ages, different backgrounds, different. I just I'm I'm excited about that piece. Um, and and in there and some having some vibrancy and some life in there, but not having to worry about that shh, you know, because it's such small, uh, small quarters there. So we built this to last. Um, this was not a 15, 20 year project. This is uh we realize it's probably gonna be one of the crown jewels um of the KDL system. Um, I know for our city it's going to be our crown jewel. Um, you know, and I and I can think of um, you know, there are when you think of iconic pictures, if you will, um, kind of wrapping this up is the uh um when I think of of Walker, what defines, you know, what picture defines Walker? One that immediately comes to mind is our place and fire memorial. Um, and uh um that's a place that's so that's it's for a lot of us it's considered solemn ground. That library is also now going to become, when you think of a picture, a backdrop that's going to represent a brand, if you will, of the city of Walker. That library is really filling that space. So we've uh we've really come uh come a long way with this, and uh we're excited it's on track to open in the fall uh dates. Um I think we're probably still looking probably at an October time frame for the official opening. More on that later. More on that later. Um, and uh uh but you're you're right now you're not seeing as much from the outside because of so much being done on the inside. But I trust when I say there's paint being put in on the walls, you're gonna start seeing carpeting pretty quick. Um there's like there's a lot of the stuff. Like, okay, now this is real, now this makes sense. So what a great time to be to be a part of the city.

Opening Plans And How To Follow

Steve Kelso 16:50

Yeah, it's just been so fun to drive by there and watch it all go up. Mary Gary Carey, Walker's Mayor, thank you for joining us this edition of the Maiden Walker Podcast. Thank you for joining us. Make sure you hit light and like and subscribe, and we'll be sure to tell you when the Walker Library is gonna open.

Nicole DiDonato 17:07

Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Maiden Walker Podcast. If you have comments or questions about this podcast, or if you have ideas for future episodes, we would love to hear from you. Please send us an email to podcast at walker.c. Maiden Walker is the official podcast for the City of Walker, Michigan. You can find Maiden Walker wherever you get your podcasts.