By Anne Jordan

Since their inception, public libraries have offered book-borrowing privileges and reference help to residents from every walk of life. In recent years, as their programming expanded to include music and cultural events, literacy classes and, of course, free Internet access, many have become full-fledged community centers. But in addition to providing these direct services, libraries are now being viewed as a tool to spur economic development and revitalize deteriorating neighborhoods.

This intriguing idea was the focus of a meeting last week sponsored by the Urban Libraries Council and held, not coincidently, in Chicago. The use of libraries as development magnets is not unique to the Windy City. But Mayor Richard M. Daley is in a league of his own when it comes to championing their value as people-intensive anchors in a larger, holistic approach to the redevelopment of housing, retail, offices, schools and parks in the city’s 78 neighborhoods.

Over the past decade, Chicago spent $200 million on 39 new or renovated libraries; 25 more are scheduled for completion by 2005 at a cost of $100 million. The library system has all but abandoned the practice of using leased, storefront branches in favor of “freestanding ‘monumental’ buildings that make a bold statement about the city’s commitment to these neighborhoods,” says Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey.

Since its opening in 1997, for example, the Near North Branch has served as a catalyst for public- and private-sector investment in the area around the Cabrini Green housing project. The library has spearheaded the construction of a new high school, a police station, several thousand mixed-income housing units and a shopping center that includes a large Dominick’s supermarket, Starbucks, Blockbuster video and AT&T Wireless outlets — all within a few blocks of the project’s notorious and soon-to-be demolished high-rises. A diverse mix of people from both Cabrini Green and the affluent Gold Coast can be found in the check-out lines of the grocery store and the library.

Chicago’s success with incorporating libraries into its economic as well as social fabric is due in large part to collaboration among different city agencies — particularly the Planning and Development Department, which coordinates siting and land acquisition for the libraries, and the Public Building Commission, which has produced four prototype designs that keep the cost of each library between $5 million and $7 million.

This comprehensive, team-oriented approach undergirds Daley’s broader $800 million Neighborhoods Alive initiative and is a reflection of the control the mayor has over every conceivable city function, including schools and libraries. But while Daley’s institutional power and personal leadership have been critical, he doesn’t hold the purse strings. Interestingly, it’s the city council rather than the taxpayers who must approve capital bond issues in Chicago. Nevertheless, Daley has cultivated widespread citizen support for libraries by separating out the system’s funding on property-tax bills.

Perhaps Chicago’s unusual circumstances and near-perfect timing with regard to the economy have made implementing this strategy easier there than elsewhere. But certainly public officials in other cities would be remiss not to consider leveraging libraries as a principal asset in their fight against urban blight.

Anne Jordan is managing editor of Governing.

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