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Library expansion project nearing completion
Work on the Mountain Home Public Library expansion is entering the home stretch, and with the cover over the outside patio being completed now the emphasis is moving to inside the building.
Last year voters approved a $1.5 million bond to more than double the size of the library, and many of those voters have taken to driving past the library at least once a week just to see how their commitment to the future is coming along.
"It's a beautiful building," said librarian Luise House. "The workmanship is way above standard," she said, praising the Cristobal Construction workers who have been building the structure. "They're giving us one of the newest, prettiest buildings in the city."
Those workers, led by project manager Ted Cantrell and site superintendent Larry Jewett, have seen the library expansion as more than just another project. It's become a labor of love.
"I think it's going to be the best looking building in the city," when they're done, Jewett said with pride. Jewett also praised the project architect, Hutchison, Smith and Associates, for the quality of the engineer drawings, and said it had been easy to work with them.
"It's what we promised the voters," House added, " and I'm proud of it."
As in all major construction projects, there have been some changes. Concerns raised about how long the fabric canopy over the front patio area would last in Mountain Home's high winds resulted in a decision to abandon the balloon-shaped canopy and go with a flat awning, instead. That also saved some money, which in the current market of skyrocketing construction costs is helping bring the project in on budget and on time.
In fact, almost all of the "add alternates," items proposed for the building that would be installed only if the money was available, have been able to be included in the construction. Only an upgraded HVAC unit (the old one works but is getting old), and the fountain probably won't be included. But the skylight over the informal reading area and upgraded acoustic ceiling tile, along with a number of other "extras," are being included.
"We'll get the fountain in later," House said, "even if I have to do it myself. But we've also had several people and some organizations offer to help if we need it."
Most of the landscaping probably won't be finished until spring. The city Parks and Recreation Department will do the bulk of that work, an offer that is helping save money. In fact, the city has stepped up on several occasions to help with the project, helping provide some fill gravel and hauling away some of the debris from the old library, which has saved money on the project.
Meanwhile, the library board of trustees has budgeted for some other items not included in the bond, such as some heavy gauge patio furniture, shade awnings off the parking lots and special items for the children's area that is part of the expanded facilities, such as toddler-sized chairs and tables, reading rugs and rocking chairs.
In addition, the board anticipates a greatly expanded book purchasing budget over the next few years. Currently, the library has about 32,000 volumes in its collection, which filled the old building to capacity. The expanded library will have room for 100,000 volumes, but it will take several years to fill all the potential shelf space in a library designed to serve the community for 50 or more years.
"We've taken a pig's ear," House said, referring to the boxlike library that had been built in 1976, "and we're turning it into a silk purse -- and doing it on a budget."
Besides praising the voters for their commitment to the future, House also praised the library board's "forward thinking. They mulled this over for a long time before they took the leap. They spent about five years setting aside money for concept drawings and architectural studies, and being pretty tough about making sure the need was there. But once they decided it was time to go for it, they really pushed hard. There have been some significant materials cost increases (since the bond was approved in August 2004) so we did this just in the nick of time."
As she walked through the building under construction last week, House admitted that "I really didn't expect it to be as nice as this. To see plans and paper turn into walls and paint has just been amazing. This will last the community a long time."
The library breaks down into basically five discrete areas.
First is the outside covered patio, a huge expansion over the old metal awning and bench that patrons had used at the old library.
From its front entrance, patrons will enter the library into an informal reading area. Known among the library board as the "Barnes and Noble" area, that section will enjoy soft lighting from a huge skylight and feature a small coffee shop, which will be franchised out to the local Moxie Java business.
A greatly expanded children's area is another feature of the new library. The children's area will have its own computers, bookshelves and a special room for the Storytime program and other juvenile activities.
The community meeting room is slightly larger than the old meeting room and will have a key-card access for groups using it outside of regular library hours.
The main "stacks," the shelves for the books, take up much of the rest of the building, although one section initially will be set aside as a study area until there are enough books to justify adding more shelving into that area.
The main library area also will feature up to 15 computers, a significant increase from the four normally used almost constantly by patrons.
Cristobal Construction anticipates finishing the project on time, about a month from now.
Then the hard work begins for House and her staff. Books from the old library have been stored all over the county, some in spare spaces in city buildings, some at the fire station, and a large set in some spare rooms at the base schools that was offered by the school district.
A fraction of the library's collection has remained available to the public at the "temporary location" downtown while construction was underway. That space was provided by the Western Elmore County Recreation District, while the city Parks and Recreation District provided space for the Storytime program.
In mid to late December, as soon as the new library is turned over to the city by Cristobal, the temporary location will be closed and the staff will begin moving more than 32,000 books back onto the shelves at the new library.
House noted it will take longer to put the books back on the shelves than it took to take them down. In addition, it is expected that all of the books will be entered into a computerized data base, allowing patrons to use a computerized card catalogue that will not only greatly expand their ability to find books in the library, but also let them know if they've been checked out or not. But it will take time to do it and House wants everything ready to go when the library re-opens.
Currently, she anticipates a formal opening date for the new library around Feb. 1.
"We hate to close down at all," she said, "but our patrons have been very patient and understanding. For four to six weeks we'll be closed, but I don't want to reopen with books still being unpacked. When we reopen again, I think they're really going to like what they find."
But it won't end there. Once the library reopens, House, her staff and the library board will begin adding to the building's capabilities. They'll be buying more books than in the past, and providing multiple copies of some popular works so the waiting list will be shorter for patrons to acquire them. They'll look at adding additional technologies, such as wi-fi links and expanded audio-visual capabilities, as well as developing specialized collections.
"We have a plan," House said, "but we couldn't do it in the old building because there just wasn't the space."
And with the extra space, House pointed out, "we're going to be able to do a much better job of responding to patron requests" for services. "We want the library to be the centerpiece of the community," she said.