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!

Scenes from our Groundbreaking Ceremony, June 16

Athens-Clarke County Library Board members, staff, local leaders and patrons of all ages celebrated the start of our renovation/expansion with a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, June 16, 2011.

Look at these shiny shovels provided by The Christman Company!

We also used these:

A big crowd of patrons, young and old; staff, local leaders and library directors from around the state gathered out front for the ceremony. In this photo, Athens-Clarke County Library Director Kathryn Ames addresses the crowd:

Cecil Bentley, Chairman of the Library's Board of Trustees, also spoke:

The crowd also heard from Athens-Clarke County Commissioners Jared Bailey and Harry Sims.

After the speeches, it was time to dig!

Then everyone enjoyed cookies and lemonade from the Friends of the Athens-Clarke County Library.

After the brief ceremony, it was time for the contractors to get back to work.

This week, workers are taking down the metal awning that hangs over the walkway out front. This work makes way for our new lobby, which will have a snack area with tables and vending machines and an all-new Library Store. The addition on the front of the building will also house a new 300-seat meeting room/auditorium, which can be split up into smaller meeting spaces.

Temporary Entrance is OPEN

This morning, the Library's front entrance was closed, and our temporary entrance was opened for the first time. Now patrons must enter and exit the building from the temporary rear entrance.

We have moved our Circulation Department (including the check out desk) to the rear of the building where the Talking Book Center was formerly located. Be on the lookout for signs directing you around the building.

Thing are REALLY going to get hopping now... the construction fence has been set up around the front entrance of the building and traffic has been rerouted away from the traffic circle (where our book drops used to be). Expect to see some demolition work soon as the big columns out front will be coming down to make way for the expansion and our new lobby!

We'd also like to take this opportunity to invite you to our groundbreaking ceremony this Thursday at 11:15 a.m. Please come to our Family Sing-a-long in the auditorium at 10:30 a.m. and stay for our groundbreaking ceremony to help celebrate our first steps toward an exciting, improved Library for everyone!

Temporary Entrance is under construction today!

Workers are installing our new temporary entrance at the back of the Library! First, they removed the last set of windows on the side of the building.

The temporary entrance leads into the office where the Northeast Georgia Talking Book Center was located.

The Talking Book Center has temporarily relocated to the Oconee County Library in Watkinsville at 1080 Experiment Station Road. You can still reach the TBC at its usual number, 1-800-531-2063 or by calling 706-310-3650.

Once our temporary entrance is complete, the front entrance and lobby will be closed for construction. Everyone will enter and leave the library through this new entrance at the back, and our Circulation Department will be moved to the back of the building as well.

New location for outdoor book drops

Things are really starting to get going on our renovation project! On Friday, our exterior book drops were relocated from the traffic circle near our entrance to the rear of the parking lot in anticipation of our new temporary entrance (which should be open in a couple weeks). Don't worry about the orange silt fence around our tree in the traffic circle... the tree (which came from a seedling of Athens' famous "Tree that owns itself") will be just fine. The traffic circle will be closed off to reroute a storm line as part of the construction project.

Another thing to think about: Parking! With part of our parking lot closed off to accommodate construction equipment, please note that overflow parking is available at the soccer fields next door. It's the next entrance off Dudley Drive from the Library's driveway.