Aurora is closing two of its smallest library branches Friday to make way for upgrades to the Martin Luther King Jr. Library in early November.

The city’s library system will shut down the libraries Chambers Plaza, 1551 Chambers Road, and Iliff Square, 2253 S. Peoria St., reassigning staff to the Central and Martin Luther King Jr. libraries.

Closing the two libraries is helping the city shift money and resources to the Martin Luther King Jr. Library located at 9898 E. Colfax Ave., according to Aurora Public Libraries Deputy Director Jo McNeal.

Following the library closures, Martin Luther King Jr. Library is opening up a new space upstairs that will double the library’s size on Nov. 3, McNeal said.

As it is, Aurora’s libraries are “very thin on the ground” in terms of staffing levels, McNeal said. With the city facing a budget shortfall, adding positions to staff the new library space is not an option.

“We needed more staff to work on that level,” McNeal said. “The obvious way to get more staff is to create additional positions, but that’s not an option for the city right now … The lesser of several evils was to close those two branches and move the staff members.”

The space expansion, which doubles the library’s size from 7,000 square feet to 14,000 square feet, comes from a $2.5 million federal grant.

Originally, the top floor of the library was city office space. But after the COVID-19 pandemic, the space was essentially deserted, McNeal said.

The grant allowed the library system to use that space for new technology, youth learning zones, collaborative and study spaces and other resources for visitors.

Now, the Martin Luther King Jr. Library’s bottom floor will be for families, with more space for activities like story time and a more kid-oriented learning space.

The second floor is aimed at adults, with study and work spaces separated from the children and activities downstairs that cause noise and could be distracting, McNeal said.

The library’s maker space will include new technology like laser cutters and sewing machines that will be available for public use.

While closing the smallest two library branches isn’t ideal, McNeal said the upgrades to the Martin Luther King Jr. Library are very exciting and will add a lot of valuable resources to the community.

“People who don’t go to libraries think it’s just books, but it’s so much more than that,” McNeal said.

Library Director Ginger White Brunetti said library officials understand the closures will “come with impact in the areas around Chambers and Iliff libraries.”

“Doubling the footprint of Martin Luther King Library in northwest Aurora is one of the greatest news of the year for us,” she said in a news release. “This decision was not easy, and we understand people will be affected.”

While library officials are excited about upgrades to the Martin Luther King Jr. Library, which will open the new space to the public on Nov. 3, library patrons lamented their local library branches closing.

Dazhane Williams worked on a computer at Chambers Plaza Library one week before it closed while two of her five children painted with library staff.

Williams comes to Chambers Plaza Library several times a week to work and has developed trusting relationships with staff members, who will often watch her kids while she works.

The family is able to walk to the library, where Williams can do her school work, print out court papers and do other important tasks, while her children have a safe place to play nearby.

“Since it’s getting closed down, it’s going to make it a little bit harder to make my way to another library,” she said. “It’s much more comfortable here, and it’s going to be different going into a whole new environment, especially for my kids.”

Central, Martin Luther King and Hoffman libraries are in “close proximity” to the Chambers Plaza area, city officials said. To supplement library resources in the Iliff Square area, Aurora Public Library plans to increase Bookmobile visits to parks, the recreation center and other places where people can check out and return items.

Aurora’s Central Library, 14949 E. Alameda Parkway, is about 10 minutes south of Chambers Plaza, and Hoffman Library is about 3 miles west.

While Williams and her kids are able to go to the other nearby libraries and will “make it work,” the Chambers Plaza one is within walking distance of her house, so she’s able to go even when she’s having car problems, she said.

Savannah Winchell, a librarian at Chamber’s Plaza, showed The Denver Gazette around the library, pointing out a variety of services beyond just books offered there that will be lost in that neighborhood when the library closes.

Along two walls, computers are available for public use, along with resume and immigration help and printer services.

Shelves of books take up the middle of the library next to a corner of the building for children’s activities.

The library hosts various programming for kids and adults, Winchell said, including crafting for children, switch games for teenagers and a beginners acrylic painting class for adults.

Martin Luther King Jr. Library also has programming like that at Chambers Plaza, but it will be more difficult for a lot of people to access, Williams said.

Aurora Central Library, 14949 E. Alameda Parkway, is up next on the renovation roster, with a $3 million federal grant that will go toward expanding youth services and other amenities.

Aurora Public Library has a total of seven branches and one bookmobile. Last year, the system had 560,000 visits.