Groundbreaking on a combined library and recreation center in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood took place on July 26, 2012. The new facility replaced the Arlington Hills Library and was dubbed the Arlington Hills Community Center, which opened on May 22, 2014. The Sun Ray and Highland Park locations closed on December 2, 2013, for extensive renovations, and reopened in fall of 2014. The Central Library was renamed "George Latimer Central Library" in honor of the former mayor of Saint Paul on June 10, 2014. Racial Equity Initiative In 2014, the library launched the Saint Paul Public Library Racial Equity Initiative in conjunction with the Saint Paul Racial Equity Initiative. The initiative entailed a number of changes in policy, which affected its workforce and services in relation to people of color. The library was recognized as a 2016 innovator by the Urban Libraries Council and was presented with the council's Equity Award in October 2016. To add additional support to the city's initiative, the library launched a "Resources on Race" libguide. The library has commissioned and published children's books in Karen, Amharic, and Oromo because of the lack of these resources in the U.S. and the need within the city. The City of Saint Paul has the largest and fastest-growing population of Karen people in the U.S. In 2019 the library eliminated fines for overdue items. This change was an outgrowth of the library's racial equity work; parts of the city where there were more people living in poverty and more people of color had higher percentages of cardholders with accounts blocked from nonpayment of fines. Services and Programs Read Brave Saint Paul is a reading program that uses books to ignite conversation about tough topics such as homelessness. Read Brave highlights YA novels that address difficult topics and is open to all ages. Directors Kit Hadley 2009–2015 Jane Eastwood 2015–2017 Catherine Penkert 2018– References External links Saint Paul Public Library Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library Education in Saint Paul, Minnesota Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Library buildings completed in 1917 National Register of Historic Places in Saint Paul, Minnesota Public libraries in Minnesota