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Wednesday, May 23, 2007 11:41 PM CDT
Library officials excited as construction advances
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — Sheryl Snyder has toured the construction site for the Charleston Carnegie Public Library’s two-story addition repeatedly, but she is still amazed by the scale.
“It is a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be,” the library director said. “Just the idea of spreading out and getting things out of storage we have not had out in a long time is a dream come true for us.”
Construction workers have enclosed much of the addition as they prepare for its fall completion. All of the library’s operations will then move to the addition while the building at 712 Sixth St. is renovated by late winter.
The library will be more than twice its current size once the project is completed.
Snyder used one of the tall windows in the adult fiction area Tuesday afternoon to access the mezzanine that will connect the existing building with the addition. She said at least two of these windows will be converted into doorways to reach the mezzanine.
The director walked across the mezzanine and into the addition’s upper level, where the adult fiction and nonfiction sections will be located. The upper level will also be home to staff rooms, two small public meeting rooms, the reference desk and a lounge area.
“We will have some really nice seating areas. We can hardly wait,” Snyder said.
The director then walked downstairs to the lower level’s west end, where the expanded library’s main entrance will be located. This entrance will be accessible by a covered circle drive off of Fifth Street and will be within short walking distance of a new parking lot on the west side of Fifth.
Charleston Public Works Director Curt Buescher said city crews plan to install the new parking lot in late June after the contractors are done using this area for their equipment.
Buescher said the city crews will then remove the old library parking spaces on the south side of Van Buren Avenue. He said the crews will install a new sidewalk, decorative street lights and trees there.
Library patrons will be able to drop off books at an island off of Fifth Street, or use drop-off boxes on the outside or the inside of the building. The expanded library’s main circulation desk will be located not far from the entrance.
The entrance will also provide access to the new Charleston Rotary Meeting Room, with seating for approximately 200 people when it is completely opened.
“This room can be divided in half for two meetings. We can get the most use of the room as possible,” Snyder said. She added the room will have screens for audio/visual usage and a kitchenette.
Patrons will also be able to find new materials in the library’s collection, audio/visual materials, and the children and youth sections on the addition’s lower level. The children’s section will include a “sprawling area” where children can read on bean bags and other cozy seating.
The basement of the existing building will be converted to a picture book section and craft room, while the genealogy section will be moved from this basement to the existing building’s south wing.
Snyder said approximately 20 computers as well as plug-ins for laptops will be available in the genealogy, adult, youth and children sections of the expanded library when it is fully open. There are about a dozen computers for public usage in the library, which already offers wireless Internet service.
“We are dispersing computers throughout the building,” Snyder said.
Much of the existing building’s main floor will be used as a quiet reading area, and the library’s traditional Sixth Street entrance will be maintained.
“We get a lot of foot traffic, especially in the summer and in the evening,” Snyder said.
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 348-5734.
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CLICK TO ENLARGE
 Ken Trevarthan (JG/T-C)
Vance Woods of English Brothers cuts a steel stud while working in the adult fiction/non-fiction area of the new Charleston Carnegie Public Library expansion Wednesday afternoon.
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Ann Cross wrote on May 24, 2007 1:48 PM: