“We just have a lot more space to use, to move around,” Peck said. “I think people will be really impressed with everything that’s been done.”
State funds and private donations were used for the updates, she said. The renovations include new meeting and study rooms, a technology training room and business center.
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The renovations also make better use of the library’s space, she said, including transforming the rotunda from an entry-way to a reading area. These updates will be closed to the public until renovations are completed.
Now workers will begin to re-paint the entire library and replace carpeting, she said, beginning with administrative offices.
During that time, “the meeting rooms will be temporary storage and offices for us,” she said.
Visitors are excited to see the progress that’s been made.
“I think it’s going to offer a lot of nice space for meetings,” Susan Hawkins said.
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She visits the downtown branch of the library with her friend, Anne Deam, at least once a week, she said.
“The library has always served the community and it’s just going to increase,” she said.
Both Hawkins and Deam believe the renovations will benefit the community.
“It’s a nice addition to an already excellent facility,” Deam said. “I think it will turn into a meeting place because in downtown Springfield there really isn’t another place for people to gather.”
The Main Library branch is one of five branches in Clark County. The downtown location has about 30,000 visits per month, Peck said, and an annual circulation of one million.
Voters approved a permanent 1.32 mill levy in 2010 after the library reduced its hours due to state budget cuts in 2009. The library returned to normal hours in 2011, the Springfield News-Sun previously reported. Money brought in from the levy couldn’t be used for the renovations, Peck said, only for operations.
The library will announce a grand opening some time in the spring, she said.
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