Durham County asks for public input on renovations to historic Stanford L. Warren Branch Library

The Stanford L. Warren library became the new home of the Durham Colored Library in 1940. That library opened to the public in 1913, as only the second Black library in North Carolina.

RND Architects of Durham are conducting the repairs, and their team is attending the sessions and listening to members of the public.

Her mother’s maternal grandfather was Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore, and her mother’s paternal grandfather was John Merrick.

Moore was a member of the White Rock Church, and he founded the Durham Colored Library in its basement by donating his personal book collection. He worked with others to charter the library and make it a non-profit, eventually moving it to its current location in 1940.

Welch says the library was a central point for upward mobility for families.

"It was run by African Americans, for African Americans, in the city and county, up until the civil rights movement in ’67. So from 1940 to 67, that’s the only library I could even go to," Welch said. "Millions of people had access to books, and be able to move up in their lives, and go to college and be professionals."

Welch said the renovation of the library is important to her and her family, and its history extends far and wide.

"Since there was only two in the whole state, people would come to Durham to go to the library," Welch said. "I’d like to see them maintain the history there inside somewhere as a standard wall, or a standard section."

The branch holds a special place in the heart of Durham resident Venn Robinson.

"It’s just the memory of walking past here, knowing I had to come get my sister out of here! Because my mom would be like, 'hey, can you go get Quadesha, she’s over there in the library, it’s getting too late,'" Robinson said.

His sister has since moved away, but Robinson said the building was her second home.

"It was hard for us to keep her out of here when it was open," he said.

The building needs major external repairs due to flood damage.

"It is a historically protected building, so we are being very very careful as we do the renovations," said Public Relations Officer Stephanie Bonestell.

The exterior repairs will start in July.

“We’ve got water coming through doors and windows. We’ve got water coming through the foundation walls. We’ve got mold," said principal architect Charles Nickelson. "There’s mold inside the ductwork and there’s mold in the ceiling cavities, and there’s water coming up through the floor.”

The flooding issue is not only a health hazard, but also a danger to books and other exhibits. The team plans to dig around the outside of the building and waterproof the foundation and put new membrane on the floors.

Some of the wooden windows are rotting and they plan to replace those as well.

The county is also re-imagining the inside of the building.

Durham hosted one listening session Wednesday afternoon.

"We want to hear from the community," Bonestell said. "We want to know what they want to see in that library."

The architect team told the crowd Wednesday afternoon that they are still in the early stages of interior design.

They have goals of celebrating the architecture and to create a safe haven for learning and growth.

Some of the suggested changes include a central location for the welcome desk on the first floor, a location for stroller parking, and a larger teen section. On the ground floor, planners are looking to add two new study rooms and printing and layout space.

The second listening session will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. next Wednesday in the Main Library Auditorium.

The county hopes to fully reopen the library by summer of 2023.