After 50-plus years, Macon’s Riverside Branch Library is closing. Here’s why

The Riverside Branch Library is set to close Monday, marking the end of more than 50 years.

The library is closing as the Middle Georgia Regional Library System — which oversees the Riverside Branch Library as well as other libraries around Macon — prepares to re-locate its north Macon branch to 5494 Forsyth Road, MGRL announced on Facebook on July 18.

Andrew Willis, marketing coordinator with the Middle Georgia Regional Library System, said Tuesday that Macon-Bibb County can only fund one library branch in north Macon, and moving the library will allow it to serve north Macon as well as western Bibb County, which lost its library in 2016.

The Riverside Branch Library was quiet Wednesday afternoon save for the hiss of the air conditioning. Books were already disappearing from the shelves and bright yellow moving labels peppered the furniture. As patrons checked out books, staff notified them that the library would be closing.

The Riverside Branch Library first opened to the public in 1970. It moved to its current location in Rivergate Shopping Center on Tom Hill, Sr. Boulevard in 1999.

Willis said MGRL has not yet determined an opening date for the new location.

“We greatly value the years of patronage from our community at the Riverside Library as well as the support from our donors, partner organizations, and local and state government,” MGRL said in its Facebook post. “We apologize for any inconvenience the closure of this branch may cause, and appreciate your understanding.”

The Riverside Branch Library’s materials will be redistributed, Willis said, and the Middle Georgia Regional Library System plans to retain the Riverside Branch Library staff, most likely at the new location.

Library staff are working to ensure patrons who have books on hold at the Riverside Branch Library can pick those materials up at other libraries, according to MGRL’s post. Book drops at the Riverside Branch Library will remain open until Aug. 1. After that, patrons are asked to return their books to other libraries within MRGL or the PINES system.