From The Director
April- June 2013

By Lynn Rosato, Library Director

Moving Day Is Almost Upon Us

It's been a long wait, but I can finally say that moving day is almost here. Yes, the second floor of the Library addition is nearly finished, as is the restoration and renovation of the Seelye House. Once the carpeting is installed on the second floor, we'll be able to start moving the Adult and Teen departments upstairs. Here's the timetable.

The Library will close Good Friday for Easter weekend and will remain closed through the first few weeks of April. During that time, shelving, collections and furniture for the Adult and Teen departments will be moved and installed on the second floor of the addition. Once that is finished, staff, and items in storage will move back into the Seelye House. Then, the Children's Library will move to its new location on the first floor, and the Adult collections of new books and audio visual materials will be moved to the space in front of the Circulation Desk, where the Children's Library now is located.

Once we're all settled, the Library will reopen to the public – but it won't be quite finished yet! Though the major move and most of the construction will be over, and the second floor and Local History Room in the Seelye House will be open to the public, there is still work to be done on the first floor.

The room that the staff has been occupying since December will become the Children's Program Room. Counters, cabinets, storage closets and other features of a program room will be constructed. The Community Room will be built at the end of the tile hallway on the far side of the restrooms, and a new entry door will be installed in the hallway for access to the Community Room after hours. Two sets of double doors will be installed at each end of the hallway, so that the main library can be closed off from the Community Room when the library is closed. This also will allow access to the restrooms for those in attendance at functions being held in the Community Room. This final phase of construction should be finished by summer.

And, for those of you who have been anxiously awaiting an expanded parking lot, the wait for that is almost over, too. Work should begin in April and be finished shortly thereafter.

Please continue to check the Library's website for construction updates and for the date we'll reopen after the major move in April. Email announcements also will be sent to keep you informed of our progress. If you aren't on the Library's email list, now's the time to sign up! You can do this from the front page of the Library's website – www.bethellibrary.org – or you may contact the Library staff who will be happy to help you.