Saturday, July 24, 2004
No programs are scheduled during the closure.
BRISTOLVILLE -- The Bristol Public Library will be closed from Aug. 6 to Sept. 7 to allow bookshelves to be moved, carpets replaced and electrical upgrades completed.
The entire cost of renovations is expected to be about $28,000, said library board president Kathy Hawkins. Staff will work through the closure, she said.
The primary reason for the renovation is to replace threadbare carpet throughout the main library floor. The carpeting was installed 14 years ago, when the rear addition was added to the 1912 front building.
To replace carpeting, workers must move all the library's 70,000 items, as well as the library shelves.
"That is a project and a half," Hawkins said.
Rearranging
A moving company has been hired to assist, she said. Employees are considering how the collection might be rearranged when put back together, she said.
Renovations also will include replacing carpeting in the rear entrance foyer with tile, and rerouting wiring for employee computers, she said.
Money for renovations will come from funds the board had been saving for an building addition, Hawkins said. An addition does not seem like an immediate possibility because of budget cuts, she said.
The board spent $17,000 already this summer to pave the parking lot and paint exterior trim on the older section of the building, she said.
The building closure takes place during a gap between the library's summer and fall programs. The book drop also will be closed and telephones will not be answered.