Crane Branch Library to reopen Friday in Elmwood Village

The Crane Branch Library in the Elmwood Village will reopen for business at 10:15 a.m. Friday, after several months of construction, according to officials with the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library System.

The building, at 633 Elmwood Ave. near Highland Avenue, has undergone $4.2 million in renovations following a three-phase reconstruction project started in 2021. Work included a brick extension being added to the city-owned building to make room for an American Disability Act-compliant elevator which was completed in the first phase. A new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system was also installed, along with a new second-floor public meeting space.

The library, built in 1955, is the top circulating branch in the city of Buffalo after the Central Library. It is the 15th most visited of the 37 library branches in the system, library officials said.

The reconstruction project was funded by the city of the Buffalo, the public library system and state Library Construction Aid.