New Cabinets! and the Carpet is Almost Done.

This has been a big week for us!  The carpet is coming right along, the new cabinets are being installed, and many fixtures have arrived.

These first two pictures show the carpet for the atrium.  It's arrived and in the process of being installed.

These next few pictures show the circulation area.  We're getting lots of cabinets for all the things we need to store.

These photos show how the carpet is progressing in the JR and YA areas.  Most of it has been laid, with the exception of that strip on the far side of the photo.

Here is the Jr. Activity Room.  There's been some discussion as to whether this room should be carpeted or not.

This next photo shows our new drinking fountains.  They're between the two public restrooms, down the hallway to the Community Room.

These next photos show the kitchen cabinets.  We're going to have a nice kitchen off the Community Room!  As you can see, we're just waiting for the counter tops.

Here is a photo of one of our staff bathrooms.  All the fixtures have arrived!

Our director, Judy Dewey, liked her cabinets in the old building so much, that they installed them for her in her new office.  They do look very nice with the new counter tops!

Here's a first look at the entryway to the new building.  There's two sets of doors, with a space in between.  Here will be the inside book drop, as well as the community bulletin board.

And, finally, here is the new view of the library as you enter the front doors.  The circulation desk is to the left, and the YA area is straight ahead.  You can see the light from the atrium streaming into the lobby area.

Updates to the Interior of the New Addition

Things continue to progress at a nice pace. We're starting to have some cabinetry installed, and the grid for the ceiling tiles is up. 

This first picture shows the atrium.  Its all painted and finished with all the windows installed:

This next photo shows the circulation area, from the perspective of the librarians.  We're inside, looking out into the lobby area:

With this next photo, you can see the new ceiling lights are now finished.  They have an LED track around the outer rim.  We'll be able to program different color of lights with this system.  You can also see the grid for the ceiling tiles is now installed.  The ceiling tiles are in the packages on the floor:

This next picture was taken in the new Junior Activity Room.  The cabinets have been installed.  Robin, one of our librarians, is posing by the cabinets to show how they are all "kid friendly" sized!

This photo shows the completed lights in the Junior Activity Room.

This photo was taken from the Junior Activity Room looking east back to the older part of the building.

I had to include this next photo!  It shows the stalls in the women's restroom.  Its a little difficult to tell from this photo, but there are privacy guards installed on the edges of all the doors.  Nice!

This photo is looking from the Community Room into the new kitchen area.  You can see the new cabinets through the serving window.  The kitchen is located in the north west corner of the Community Room.

Our staff break room is shown in this next photo.  We really like the cabinets!

The last photo for today shows the staff processing room.  All the walls are finished, and the grid is installed just waiting for the ceiling tiles:

Interiors Get Insulation and Drywall

Work on the interior is moving right along!  The weatherization materials and insulation are being installed.  Here are a few pictures of the work being done right now.

The insulation is going up in the atrium.  Its kind of fun to watch them lift the insulation pieces up to the top of the atrium.

Here is a picture of the weatheriszation materials along the north wall.  This photo looks west down through what will be the Young Adult and Junior sections of the library.

The drywall has also arrived and is in the process of being installed. This next photo shows the drywall up in the new Junior Activity Room.

They've also put drywall inside the lighting fixtures.  This photo shows a close-up of one in the Junior area.

This next photo shows the drywall leaning up against the sides of the framing waiting to be installed.  This picture is looking east from the Junior Activity Room back to the old part of the library.

In other parts of the building, the drywall is still waiting to be installed.  The next picture shows the drywall waiting in the Community Room.

This photo shows drywall waiting to be installed in the new Staff Processing area.

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.