Austintown’s library to close for one month

May 13, 2012 at 12:05a.m.

Austintown

One of busiest branches of The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County will close for a month.

Janet Loew, library spokeswoman, said the Austintown Library on South Raccoon Road near the Austintown Middle School campus will close Monday to replace sections of wood flooring.

Loew said the project will cost $39,908, which will be paid for out of the library system’s building and repair fund.

“We have a wood floor from recycled materials that was placed in the library when we built it. The floor is down the center aisle and right when you come in,” she said. “It didn’t hold up as well as we hoped it would. It’s showing serious wear, so it’s time to replace it with a more durable material.”

Workers will use carpet and ceramic tile as a replacement.

Loew said the library will remain closed to the public until June 16. She said they chose to do the work now because of a busy summer programming schedule.

“With a library, especially one as busy as this branch, there’s not a good time to close it,” she said. “We looked at different factors and decided we wanted to complete the work before summer reading and a big summer kick-off event.”

Schools Superintendent Vince Colaluca said he doesn’t foresee the closing affecting students who are preparing for end-of-the-year testing.

“There are groups of students who go there after school, so they’ll have to make some adjustments,” he said. “But in regard to our students’ academics and needs they have our [school] libraries they can use.”

Loew said the library will extend due dates on items checked out at the branch that would have been due back during the time it’s closed. Book drops outside the Austintown Library will be available while the branch is closed, and materials can be checked out or returned at any of the other branch.