Caution: Changes Ahead!

Don't say we didn't warn you! The Library will be undergoing some significant changes this fall.

Overall, shelving will be taller - and there will be more of it. Some aisles will be narrower (Americans with Disabilities Act minimum 36" rather than the preferred 42"). Tables and seating will be closer together. Local History and genealogy collections will be housed in the Original Library, along with newspapers and magazines. One Study Room will still be available for public use, but it will be the former Local History Room on the upper level. The changes will be phased in throughout the fall, with a target of November for completion of all phases.

Today, the Youth Services Desk reconfiguration began. The last piece will be remade and delivered Monday. Already, the space has a new feel. The Desk has moved forward and is narrower. The openings are on the sides, allowing staff to come and go more freely.

For the next step, the new shelving is ordered and scheduled for delivery. The plan is being finalized for the relocation of the existing shelving and furniture. It's tentatively scheduled to begin September 14. The Library will be open during the process, though the actual installation and physical moving of existing shelves is slated to occur in the early AM before the library opens to the public. The process is anticipated to take a week for the actual installation and relocation.

Shifting of collections to new locations and onto new shelving will require a little more time, since all of that work will be done by Library staff while still conducting business as usual. Our fabulous Pages, led by Lisa and Sheilah, are the ones performing the bulk of that work.

The final piece of the project will be the relocation of the Study Room and changes to staff spaces that will take place once the shelving installation and relocation. Stay tuned for more on that!