02/21/2026
Feb. 18, 2026: The fight to keep our library has been going on for well over a decade and has intensified over the past two years. Two wonderful events happened recently: 1) Tyler Swanson, Chair of the Wake Co. School Board on behalf of the school board, offered to work with the Wake County Commissioners to keep our community library on the campus in a separate building. That letter was issued last week. 2) Jane Harrison, Our City Rep on the Raleigh City Council made a motion at the council table for the city land to be used to help the county and school system make it possible! Jonathan Melton worked with Jane and gave the second to her motion. Passed 7 to 1. Go City! We need everyone in the community to email thanks to the city and school board members for their contributions to keeping our library in OUR COMMUNITY. If you need contact info, go to our website or email us. [email protected]
Jane Comments: It has come to my attention that the Wake County School Board Chair has offered partnership to keep the Athens Drive Community Library on the high school campus, not in the school but on the campus grounds, which could help the library to remain in Raleigh. It has been a vital community asset since 1978 and serves a socioeconomically diverse community which the library should be able to serve for years to come. I also want to note that the City has a property at 4200 Avent Ferry Rd (2.49 acres) adjacent to the campus which could provide land and flexibility in design of the new school and library. Half of the acreage is likely undevelopable because of the topography and water features but the rest could be of use. The undevelopable portions could also be used as tree conservation or provide other environmental requirements for the school campus redesign.
HER MOTION: To support keeping the Athens Drive Community Library in the community – that is, in southwest Raleigh, I’m making a motion to authorize the City Manager to engage in discussions with the Wake County Commission and Wake County School Board on partnership opportunities to keep Athens Drive Community Library in Raleigh.
These events are remarkably important to keeping our library. The two actions by the school board and the city council have REMOVED the BARRIERS and have cleared the way for the county staff, working with the school system's staff, to use this extra land to reconfigure the front of the school facing Avent Ferry Rd. to accommodate a new stand alone library!
Of course there is still much work to do and many other unknown events that could make this go sideways....keep up the advocacy!
The work session by the County Commissioners to discuss the proposed library on the ADHS site has been moved from February to March 9th - please attend! AGAIN email us to get on our email list so that you are alerted to key meetings! [email protected] HELP welcomed!
