NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — At Tuesday's meeting of the Nashville Library Board of Trustees, library leadership still did not have a reopening date for the main downtown branch of the Nashville Public Library — but they did provide some insights about progress at the site.

NPL's main downtown branch has been closed after a fire damaged the building and destroyed its adjacent parking garage in June. Library Director Terri Luke provided the majority of the updates on the timeline, but said leadership is still waiting on getting a firm opening date. Luke explained that there needs to be a plan from an architectural firm to show the restoration company "exactly" what they need to do. That plan must be in place before work can proceed.

"I want everyone to know that we're eager to welcome our customers back to Main, but we have to follow the experts' lead for the safety of both our customers and our staff," Luke said. "...I just want to thank our staff and our customers for their flexibility right now. It really means a lot to us. We look forward to bringing customers back to Main as soon as we get a reopening date."

Luke added that leadership did not realize "until ... last week" that both Metro Codes and the Fire Marshal were needed at this point in the work. She applauded the responsiveness of leaders at Metro Codes and the Nashville Fire Department. Luke also said there's about 40 days' worth of work that has to happen once approval to move forward has been given.

Once the library does reopen, Luke said the hope is that each affected component — from the parking garage to the conference center, which was "gutted" due to severe damage from smoke and soot — would reopen together. That's due, in part, to the fact that there can't be occupancy until everything is done.

"We knew about the smoke and the soot. That work has been ongoing and continuing since June," Luke said. "...We have to bring it back up to code before we can reopen, and that's something that was done 25 years ago. There are things that need to come up for fire safety in order for us to reopen, and that's a result of when the building was done 25 years ago."

"At the end of the day, I think our mindset needs to be set on 2026," board member Charvis Rand said.

Activity at NPL's 20 branches indicated that patrons who had gone to Main were visiting other branch locations, with Luke adding that the closure has helped shed light on the work being done across the city. Board Chair Joyce Searcy said that though the permitting process might take time, it would be best for the overall long-term safety of library staff and patrons.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/oct-21-2025-main-npl-library-update/