Please use the elevator

The new public elevator is operational! So now, we're closing the big stairs. Don't worry... it's just for a little while so workers can do some work that requires scaffolding. Once they're done next week, at least one side of the staircase will be open at all times. (We will close off each side, one at a time, so workers can install new tile on the steps.)

So what else is new this week? A lot. After a few weeks of being closed to the public, the areas under renovation are almost unrecognizable. Here are some photos of the Children's Department.

 Check it out... the walls of the children's bathrooms are gone! (Don't worry... they'll be replaced!)

This morning, we noticed a new wall in the rear of the Children's Area, seen above. (Directly left of this photo is the doorway that goes into the back hallway of the building).

 It's very difficult to convey in photos, but the two shots above show where the new Children's Desk will be, as well as the wide hallway through the center of the building. This area USED to be our Circulation Work area and Tech Services (where we process materials). When renovation is complete, the center of the building will house programming space for the Children's and Young Adult departments. The wide hallway will house the Children's Area computers along the walls!

Meanwhile, over in the Young Adult Department, the "trenches" that were cut into the floor to run wiring have been filled in, as seen above.

Also downstairs, we got completely disoriented when we entered the old Talking Book Center (where Circulation has been temporarily located, at the rear of the building.) There all kinds of new walls and offices back here, which will house Tech Services when complete. The following photo was taken from the former temporary entrance. If you look to the left, that's where the Circulation Desk was!

Finally, all kinds of changes are happening upstairs. The Administration offices are being reconfigured. The shot below shows the Public Relations office!

  Also, our Board Room is being widened.

To close, here's a shot of the former Reference Area, which will become Nonfiction when renovation is complete.

Wow!

Demolition

We're kicking into high gear with the renovation of the Young Adult and Children's departments! Check out these photos from today... you can hardly recognize our space!

In the Children's Area, carpet has been ripped out and workers are clearing out the space, including knocking out drywall:

 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the building in YA, we saw THIS:

It's not every day you see a trench dug in the middle of the library! Workers had to cut through the concrete slab to make way for plumbing and wiring. (In case you were wondering what that drilling noise was last week, this is what they were doing!)

They've got the new Circulation Workroom framed out:

 This is at one end of YA, close to the Browsing Area.

Please continue to bear with us as we wait for the public elevator to open. For now, we're directing everyone who needs it to the elevator at the rear of the building, but it hopefully won't be for much longer!

Phase III officially under way!

It's been a very eventful week at the library for sure. On Sunday afternoon, our area had a power outage that fried a component of our electrical system. We had SOME power (some lights) but were without important things like the elevator, public computers, and air conditioning. We had to close for a day and a half while we waited on a repair (took a couple days for the right part to arrive from out of state). We were closed Monday and part of Tuesday, but we're back up and running now.

There have been some HUGE changes around here this week. For starters, the temporary entrance is closed as of yesterday (Thursday, Aug. 23), and folks are using our real front door!

When you walk in, the first thing you see (besides the tall atrium above your head!) is the temporary Circulation Department on your left. This area is where our vending/cafe area will eventually be located, along with a new Library Store. You can't see it in the picture below, but the door to the store is just out of this photo to the right.

We have our new books in the lobby, and the Young Adult department (plus audiobooks and DVDs) are in the usual Circulation area, which is not finished yet, so there's no carpet on the floor:

The REAL Young Adult area looks like this today:

It's pretty strange to see it without shelves and carpet! Don't worry... A renovated Young Adult Department will be located in its original place when we're done.

The Children's Area has temporarily moved to our new auditorium on the first floor. Here's Miss Rebecca at the Children's Desk:

And an overall shot of the room.

Meanwhile, here's what's going on in the real Children's Area as workers pack up everything to make way for an updated department:

Wow!

Upstairs, patrons are enjoying the new computer area, including some new computers. Look at these HUGE screens!

Here's a shot of the new Reference Desk, with friendly staff ready to help you:

Please come see us! We do ask for your continued patience and understanding as we go through construction. Things are a little topsy turvy and, yes, kind of confusing in places around the building. Please bear with us, think of how great the library will be when it's finished, and, as always, ask a staffer if you need help finding a book or just finding your way around!

In flux

Did you see us in the Athens Banner-Herald yesterday? We've got some more photos today showing all the moving that's going on in the Library! Sit back and enjoy:

The Children's Area move is now officially under way. We're moving our children's books to temporary shelving set up in the new auditorium.

The move also includes cleaning out our Children's Area Work Room. For those who don't know, the work room is where our talented staff draw, plan, craft and create all the magical stuff you see in the Children's Area. Naturally, it was FULL of stuff. Here's a pile of supplies, ready to be moved into a storage room in the new temporary space:

 Look carefully, and you'll see some juvenile nonfiction in the background!

In addition to moving Children's, work has started on transferring nonfiction to its temporary digs as well. From here:

To there:

We've also got shelves ready downstairs for Young Adult and DVDs, which will be across from the new public elevator:

These areas are not yet accessible to the public, so if there's a book you want from the affected sections, simply ask a staffer to get it for you. We know it's a little inconvenient, but this transition will be short!

There's a post on This Day in Athens about changes that are going to impact the Heritage Room collection temporarily. Meanwhile, we have some new photos to tide you over.

I didn't realize these display cases were going to be glass on both sides... cool!

 And look! Microfilm readers!

(Check out that snazzy carpet, by the way!)

Workers have taken down the temporary wall between Reference and the new section. It's not quite finished yet, but here's a sneak peak of what we have to look forward to. The carpet in this area (where the Reference Desk will be) is beautiful! Those "windows" on the left are open to the other side, so you can see the glass elevator shaft and a clear view all the way to Fiction. If you look through the middle opening, you can see the current Reference Desk!

Our Computer Operations staff have had their hands full these past few days setting up computers in our new computer area (formerly the Fiction area upstairs). We'll have pictures of that for you soon!

Paving the way

While our staff busies itself moving books around inside the building, activity is also buzzing outside in the parking lot. Check out this photo... We have a new sidewalk at the entrance, and they're paving the lane that goes by the front door:

Workers are also paving where they widened our entrance/exit to three lanes:

Back to inside the building... We've finished moving Adult Fiction and Large Print upstairs to the new section. However, that part of the building isn't set to open to the public for a few more weeks. In the meantime, our staff can go in and get the book you want... just ask at the Reference Desk.

According to our latest information, our Information Technology staff will move next, followed by our public computers (desks and chairs to start arriving next week!). Next, our Reference Staff will move to their new offices. Our Children's Area will move to the new auditorium downstairs (temporarily), scheduled for August 13. Here's a photo of shelves waiting to be assembled in there:

Things are coming together!

Books are on the move again!

Below is a photo we have been waiting to take for a long time now. Behold! The very first books to be located in the addition!

That's right, folks! Adult Fiction is moving to its permanent home on the second floor of the north addition (on the front of the building) starting this week! Here are some more photos of workers assembling the shelves in preparation for the move:

Pretty exciting!

While we were upstairs marveling at the shelf assembly, we decided to check on progress of the rest of the floor. Check it out! We have carpet. Here's the pattern in the Heritage Room:

 

We also have cabinets! These are in a staff work area upstairs:

All this means that the third and final phase of construction is upon us. Starting this week, we will again move departments around the building so workers can renovate the space. In a nutshell, here's what's moving and where it's moving to:

1. Adult Fiction: Moving from its temporary location downstairs to its permanent home on the second floor of the addition that's on the front of the building.
2. Adult Non-Fiction: Moving from the original Reference Area to space in front of the new elevator upstairs (between the elevator and Adult Fiction).
3. Reference Desk: Moving to its new permanent location on the second floor.
4. Computers: Moving to their new permanent location, where Fiction USED to be before construction began.
5. Administration: Moving to the Heritage Room while existing offices are renovated.(Heritage Room will still be closed)
6. Children's Area: Moving to the new auditorium on the first floor of the front addition while its space is renovated.
7. Young Adult Department and Audio-Visual Department: Moving to the original Circulation/Lobby area while its space is renovated.
8. Circulation Department: Moving to temporary quarters in the library's future store/vending area.
9. Entrance: The main front entrance will be open! (and just wait until you walk into our new atrium!)
10. Elevator: New elevator will be open and operational, which means no more navigating the back hallway to find the elevator we usually use to bring book carts upstairs.

So as you can see, things are moving along, and we're getting closer to the finish line! We ask that you bear with us during the next few weeks as we transition to Phase III. There will probably be some inconveniences during this phase. Some non-fiction books will be packed away for a bit due to limited space. During the next couple weeks as we move books around, the Adult Fiction will be inaccessible to patrons until the temporary construction wall comes down.

But don't worry! You can order any non-fiction book you need through the PINES network, and staff will be able to go into the new addition and grab the fiction book you want during the short time Fiction is closed off. So if there's a book you cannot find, please ask us for help!

Preparing for Phase 3 of Construction

In less than a month, things are going to get REALLY interesting around here, as our staff moves everything into the new parts of the building so workers can revamp the old parts during Phase 3 of our construction/renovation. This means the Children's Area will move to the new 300-seat auditorium downstairs, the Young Adult department and Circulation will move, and Adult Services, including Reference, will move to the area that's BEHIND the WALL upstairs. Naturally, things are shaping up around the building, as we get closer to the move date...

Things like... CARPET! Check out these photos of the upstairs of the addition that faces Dudley Drive, the future home of Adult Fiction:

Also upstairs, here's a shot of our laptop bar. We'll have this counter with stools where you can bring your laptop, plug in to an outlet and use our free wireless Internet access. These windows let you look down into our new atrium at the entrance.

Speaking of which, the Atrium is shaping up nicely, too:

And last but not least, you may or may not remember that the public elevator will be relocated. Instead of being off to the side, the new elevator is right in front of our big staircase (where the original circulation desk stood.) This area will still be Circulation when construction is done, but it's going to look different. Here are a few shots of work on the elevator. Downstairs:

And upstairs:

Pretty cool.