FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 24, 2018 Contact Farrell Howe Marketing and Communication Manager Kalamazoo Public Library 269-553-7879 Kalamazoo Public Library Alma Powell Branch will be Open on Saturdays Beginning February 3 Beginning Saturday, February 3, Kalamazoo Public Library's Alma Powell Branch<http://www.kpl.gov/pow> will be open on Saturdays, 1 - 5 pm. A grand opening celebration<http://kpl.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails%3FEventId=11825%26backTo=Calendar%26startDate=2018/02/01> will be held on Saturday, February 10, at 2 pm. The event will feature a screening of the movie, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and soul food will be served. The decision to open Powell Branch on Saturdays was the result of strong community feedback expressing the need for additional library hours, a steady increase in daily library usage, and support from the Douglass Community Association. "Kalamazoo Public Library is pleased to be able to respond to the community's request for additional, more accessible hours. It is important to us to not only meet the needs of residents who live near the Powell Branch Library, but this decision also fulfills our purpose to be a place for everyone to explore, discover, and engage," said Library Director Ryan Wieber. The Alma Powell Branch Library is located at 1000 W. Paterson and serves the residents of the Northside neighborhoods of Kalamazoo. The library offers books, movies, music and programming for all ages, and also features the Barnabee Art Gallery<http://www.kpl.gov/powell/barnabee.aspx>, which displays several exhibits each year. Beginning February 2, in celebration of Black History Month, art, history and science lovers can enjoy The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks art exhibit<http://kpl.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=11853&backTo=Calendar&startDate=2018/02/01>, a collaboration of several local and out-of-state artists celebrating Henrietta Lacks. Known as the mother of modern day medicine, Lacks is the unwitting source of the HeLa cell line, the first immortalized cell line and one of the most important cell lines in modern history. Alma Powell Branch Library is open Monday, 1 - 6 pm, Tuesday, 1 - 8 pm, Wednesday, 1 - 6 pm, Thursday, 10 am - 6 pm, Friday, 10 am - 5 pm and now Saturdays, 1 - 5 pm. The library is closed on Sundays. For more information, visit kpl.gov/pow<http://www.kpl.gov/> or call 269-553-7964. ####