Moving dirt, moving books!

If you have children who are fascinated by bulldozers and earth movers, now's the time to come see us! Look at this giant pile of dirt! And the big concrete pipe sections!

All this work is happening so storm drains can be rerouted to make room for the new addition out front.

Monday, August 1, starts Phase 2 of construction, which will bring some big changes. Starting that day, the Heritage Room will be closed, along with the Auditorium and Small Conference Room. Don't despair... you will still have access to some of our Heritage Room resouces, and there are plenty of useful tools online at our website. Just visit the Reference Desk to ask for assistance.

We're getting ready to start moving our books around in preparation for Phase 2. Over the next week or so, you'll see Adult Fiction being moved downstairs to the Young Adult area, and Adult Nonfiction will shift over to the Reference Area. We'll post photos of the big move here when it starts.

Once again, if you feel lost or can't find what you're looking for, please ask us for help! We really do appreciate your patience as we work to make the Library even better for our community.

Finding new routes

Remember how in the last post, we said parts of the building were going to be blocked off for construction?

Well, that time has come. Starting this morning, the front lobby (including the elevator) is no longer accessible.

Likewise, the corresponding part of the building upstairs is inaccessible as well (this includes the ETC, the ladies' restrooms near Adult Fiction, the upstairs "bridge" between Fiction and Nonfiction... also known as the Top of the Stairs Gallery).

But don't worry! We have laid out alternate routes using the back hallway downstairs and what used to be the Staff Workroom upstairs. You still have access to an elevator (formerly the staff-only elevator in the back of the building) and restrooms upstairs (in the former Staff Workroom). Just follow the signs to find your way around the building, and if you feel lost, ask a staffer!

Tearing down columns, putting up walls

The outside of our building looks dramatically different. Workers have finished removing the concrete columns and metal framed canopy from the front.

Looks kind of bare, doesn't it? The whole front of the building will be bumped out to create space for a new lobby, new vending/cafe area, and a 300-seat multipurpose meeting room.

While all this is happening outside, the inside of our building has a lot of work going on, too. Workers are preparing to block off parts of the building to accommodate construction.

Our Educational Technology Center (computer lab) is now closed. The computers have been moved to our Reference Area upstairs, and now the Reference Desk is staffed by both a Librarian AND an ETC worker.

Everywhere you look, there are new temporary walls put up, like upstairs near the Reference Computers where a partition has been put up to create a staff work area:

Those study carrels are where the ETC computers are now located.

Or downstairs at our Periodicals and Self Holds shelves:

The wall got moved several feet to prepare for work on the front of the building (just on the other side is where the walkway leading to the lobby is!).

Lots more changes are in store in the near future. However, we're still open and are ready to serve your information and entertainment needs!