Library readies for brief move to new quarters

By {screen_name}
Friday, July 13, 2012

By this time next month, patrons of the Mesa County Public Library District’s central library will be browsing for books in a building where people once shopped for sofas.

The library’s board of trustees Thursday night authorized the library’s temporary relocation from its longtime downtown home at 530 Grand Ave. to the former Ashley Furniture facility at 655 N. First St. to facilitate a $6.7 million renovation and expansion of the main branch.

Preparation for the move will shorten the central library’s hours for a week leading up to a temporary closure of the library.

The central library will open at noon each day from July 30 to Aug. 3, then close Aug. 4, to allow workers to pack up materials and furniture and move them to the new temporary location.

The temporary location is expected to open the week of Aug. 13 with regular library hours.

During the move, patrons can visit the district’s seven other branches, which will continue to operate on their regular schedules. In addition, patrons can place holds on items and have them sent to the branches.

No overdue fines will be charged on items due between July 30 and Aug. 31.

The 26,000-square-foot building needs some minor work done in advance of the move, including a book drop, shelving and cabling for computers and phones, but otherwise is ready to go, library spokesman Bob Kretschman said.

“It’ll be a fully functional library,” he said.

The project at the central library will add 9,000 square feet to the 36,000-square-foot building. Plans call for a multipurpose room, small study rooms, outdoor patio space and expanded areas for reading and studying.

Construction should be finished next spring.

The rental of the temporary location will cost the library about $75,000, Kretschman said.

The building that formerly housed Ashley Furniture has been empty since the furniture retailer closed in January 2011.