The wait is nearly over.
After having been closed since Aug. 31, the James Prendergast Library will reopen to the public on Jan. 13.
''We're ready to unveil some exciting changes,'' said Catherine Way, the library's director, in a written statement. ''We hope visitors will be pleased with what they see.''
Though the reopening is welcome news for library users who have anxiously awaited the project's completion, next week's reopening will be ''low-key,'' Ms. Way said. That's because some of the new furniture may not be available, no audio materials for adults will be on display and borrowers who visit the library's children's room will have only books to choose from.
''We decided it was more important to get the library open than to wait until everything is totally ready,'' Ms. Way said.
A grand reopening will be held Feb. 26.
A LONG WAIT
The library has been closed for the last 19 weeks as construction crews and library workers alike have been hard at work on the project.
It all began as a simple light-replacement project when library officials learned ballasts would no longer be manufactured for the light fixtures in the main reading room and the children's room, forcing them to choose between retrofitting the existing fixtures or installing new ones. Both choices involved the removal of asbestos located in the ceiling tiles in the front portion of the library.
While that work was being done, library officials reasoned, the asbestos located in tiles beneath the carpet should also be removed.
''From the beginning, we've asked people to focus on improvements to be made rather than temporary inconvenience,'' Ms. Way said. ''The payoff for their patience is at hand.''
BETTER USE OF SPACE
The library's renovation has been done with one goal in mind - to optimize the way the library makes use of its space.
''This space was designed in 1962 and library use has evolved dramatically over the years,'' Ms. Way said. ''We're basically getting a new library here - we're going to make better use of our space which will allow us to accommodate a growing collection.''
As part of the renovation, the library's children's room was rearranged. New, more modern, custom-made desks were installed at the main circulation area at the front of the library, in the children's room and in the reference area.
The front corner of the library, which previously was home to the large-print books, is now home to 15 public-access computers, microfilm machines, a copy machine and a printer. The large-print books have been moved only a few feet away to shelves that formerly housed the library's magazine collection. Magazines have been relocated toward the center of the library on the left-hand side.
New books were previously located along a wall near the circulation desk. Now, they are located on new, free-standing shelving units in the front of the library's main room. Small, rotating shelves filled with paperback books are located near the new books.
Audio books and CDs are now located along the wall where new books were.
The reference computers, previously located along one wall near the center of the library, have been relocated to a new table behind the new reference desk at the center of the library.
The wall along which the reference computers were formerly located has been knocked out and has been replaced with new shelving to help the library accommodate its film collection, which numbers around 10,000 DVDs and VHS tapes. Documentaries and some feature films will be on shelves near the library's main room, while the remainder of the films will be housed in the renovated video room.
Upstairs where biographies were once housed, a new reading area for teens has been created.
Three tables for four people and several tables for two people, all of which have electrical outlets for laptop computers, will be located behind the reference desk. The library also has a new wireless Internet router, which allows patrons to connect to the Internet while at the library.
CREWS HAVE LOCAL TIES
Companies with local ties involved in the refurbishing were Ahlstrom-Schaeffer Electric Corp., Colecraft Commercial Furnishings, H.C.H. Interiors, Mazany Contract Interiors and Stohl Environmental, a Blasdell firm owned by Jamestown-area native Chris Stohl.
The capital project was originally estimated to take up to three months to complete and cost approximately $900,000.
Funding was provided by The Lenna Foundation, Carnahan-Jackson Foundation, Hultquist Foundation, Inc. and the New York State Public Library Construction Grant program. Funding was also secured by state Assemblyman Bill Parment, D-Harmony, and state Sen. Catharine M. Young, R-Olean.
All overdue materials returned by Jan. 15 will be fine-free. Patrons may return items at any time by placing them in the library's bookdrop, which is located at the library's main doors. Items may also be returned at any of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System's 36 member libraries.
The Prendergast Library is located at 509 Cherry St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
