Work Progresses on the Old Section Remodel

To start off, I had to show you this fun photo of one of our construction crew driving this big machine into our parking lot.

There's been a lot of work done on the old section of the library.  Most of the framing is now complete.  You can tell from this picture how the clerestory roof is coming - its just peeking out over the top of the old building.  The second photo is a bit better, and shows how high the new roof is.

Here is the ceiling from the inside.  You can see the clerestory windows along the top edge.  They will match the ones we have now in the new atrium at the entrance to our new building.

The drywall has arrived, and is just waiting to be installed.  Here we see a pallet of drywall waiting in the old General Collections area.

This photo shows the drywall for the new book store and the other half of the old library.

This last image shows our new fireplace.  We're standing in what was the old children's area, about where Story Time used to be held.

More Work on the Old Side

The work continues to progress on the older side of the building.  The demolition part is almost over, and most of the framing has been completed.  Here's a few photos to show you what's going on.

This first photo is actually taken outside a wall!  We're looking through the wall of what will one day be the janitor's closet down our stairwell to the basement.  The janitor's closet will be located in what used to be the west end of our staff area.

This next photo shows one of our construction crew working in what used to be our old staff break room.  It will soon be the new public restrooms of the new remodel.

You can see the sunlight streeming into the old library with this photo.  We're looking at the old hallway, which now has all the beams installed for the clerestory ceiling.  Our old doorway is now closed off by a temporary wall.  Once the remodeling is completed, that old entry will be an emergency exit.

The material above all our old windows has been removed.  They will construct metal overhangs to match the new building.

With this picture, we can see that the beams supporting the clerestory are completely installed.  This raised area will have windows to let in light in the same way the atrium windows do.

We're looking east from the old Children's section of the library.  You can see what remains of Leslie Twitchell's lovely mural on the left-hand side.

In front of our old east windows, we're going to have a gas fireplace.  As you can see, it has arrived and is already installed.  This is going to be a cozy, wonderful area to sit and read in!

This final photo shows what will be the new Library Foundation Bookstore.  The framing for both the sales area and the storage space has been completed.  The doorway will open out into the hallway.

First Tour of the New Library Wing!

On January 29, 2010, the new interior is ready to show!  Most of the walls have been studded in, and its much easier to envision how the new wing will look when it's completed. A few of the library staff and I are going to take you on a virtual tour.  We'll start at the front door, then head west through the staff areas, turn north through the Community Room and the Junior Activity Room, before heading back east through the Young Adult Area back to the old library.

Here's some photos to show the new areas:

This photo shows the new front door area.  We're standing in the atrium area looking to the south.  To the right in this picture is where the new check-in area will be.  There will be a big glass wall so that patrons can watch the new sorting equipment process the books and other library materials.

The following photo shows the new atrium:

We've backed up a few steps and are looking south west.  You can see Anette, one of our librarians.  She's standing in front of where the new Library Foundation Book Store will be, by the yellow door that was south of the old west entrance. 

For our next photo, we've turned to the right and walked east into what will be the new staff and processing area.

Here we see Robin, another of our librarians, standing in front of what will be the east wall of the staff area. Behind him will be staff restrooms and the storage closet for the new Community Room.

We've now walked to the east through the hallway that will lead from the staff area into the new Community Room.

Here we've turned around and are facing east.  We see two of our librarians, Anette and Valerie, walking through the hallway.  Behind them, you can see the new staff area, and the wall to the new circulation desk.

Our tour now takes us west again, into the new Community Room.

This photo shows the north west corner of the new Community Room.  The doorway you see will lead to a small kitchenette area.  You can also see how high the raised ceiling will be, letting in lots of light!

Now we turn right once again, and head north through a hallway, past the new public restrooms, and into the new Junior area. 

This photo is looking into the new Junior Activity Room.  We're standing in the northwest corner of the new building, but this photo is actually looking to the south west corner of the Junior Activity Room.  The metal structures you see on the ceiling will house lighting fixtures.

We're almost ready to head back to the older section of the building.  This next photo shows the scope of the new addition:

We've made a 180 degree turn, and are now facing directly east.  The Junior Activity Room is directly behind us.  This view is looking through the Junior and Young Adult areas of the library, past the staff areas (on the right) and back towards the older part of the building.  The sunlight you see on the floor up in the distance is coming in through the clerestory windows of the atrium.

While most of the snow has been removed from the interior of the new construction, a great deal of ice has remained.  The construction crew has worked to get it all broken up and shoveled out, using blowtourches and heaters.

This is a pile of ice chips left behind in the Young Adult Area.

This next photo shows the housing for the lights in the Young Adult Area.

We're looking up, and to the north east (more north than east).  The lights will be quite elaborate, and will hang above and below the ceiling on different levels.  They'll also have the capacity to change colors.

Now we're back to where our tour began.

We've walked through the Young Adult Area, past the new staff and processing areas, and are standing in the atrium once again.  We're looking to the north east.  The yellow double doors you see were the old staff entrance that was to the immediate south of the old book drop.

I hope you've enjoyed your tour of the new addition! As you can see, things are shaping up very nicely.  I'm looking forward to being able to show you continued updates as the interior work progresses.

Framing in the Walls

Here's a good photo showing the construction crew putting up the wooden frame for the building.

Most of the walls were completed by the first part of January, 2010.