Two words aptly describe Renton’s library over the river – iconic and anachronistic.

Both also give a strong hint why it’s so hard to say goodbye to a beloved library that has drawn thousands of Renton’s kids to storytimes and helped others explore their real world and the worlds created by fiction writers.

It’s iconic in that it’s probably the only library that straddles a river – in this case, the Cedar River. It’s a good symbol for Renton, much like Seattle’s Space Needle.

It’s anachronistic because of its location, too. It’s simply out of place in an era when construction near (or over) a river is heavily regulated or banned outright. It will be no easy feat to get permits to bring the building up to current standards.

So, feel lucky the library exists at all. Take heart it will live on, not as a library but as another place where the public can gather and relate to one another, maybe through the arts or through something more active. The public will have its say in that future direction.

Still, the decision by the City of Renton and the King County Library System to build a new library near the Piazza has been wrenching, at least for some. It doesn’t help that the decision was set in motion by an ultra-close election early last year to annex to KCLS in which only a third of Renton’s registered voters bothered to vote. The margin of victory was just 53 votes.

But what they forget is that there was a good chance the City of Renton would have closed its city-owned libraries because it didn’t have the money to operate them.

So the decision to build a new library was the right one.

I’ve now made the point that the library won’t work in its current location. But that means Renton will get a state-of-the-art library that while smaller than the current one will still provide a higher level of service.

It’s also not a bad thing the new library is near the Piazza, with the positive impact it will have on rejuvenating downtown Renton. On the other hand I won’t white-wash the real likelihood that the transient nature of the neighborhood will create an uncomfortable environment for some patrons.

Frankly, I’ve wondered for a time whether the Metro Transit Center, which also came with a potential (promise?) to help transform downtown has justified the emotional (worry about crime) and physical impacts (those big buses on downtown streets) on the city.

But that is Renton’s hand to play.

There’s a similar situation playing out in the Highlands, on Sunset Boulevard. There the Renton Housing Authority wants to redevelop its Sunset Terrace public-housing project. A key part of the overall project is an urban village; the new Highlands library branch will anchor a new pedestrian plaza. That is a wonderful idea.

Rarely, does a city have the chance to site such an integral part of a community – its libraries – in a way that will help breathe new life into neighborhoods.

Even in a document as dry as an environmental impact statement, those drawings of the plaza convey a sense of energy, a sense of family. In my book a city thrives when its energy is harnessed for the common good and decisions are made that will promote family life.

Those twin goals are reachable downtown and in the Highlands with the siting of the new library branches.