CdA Library opening delayed
COEUR D’ALENE – The new library is taking shape at the edge of McEuen Field with the main structure, roof and windows installed. However, it will be later than expected before residents will be able to explore its cavernous interior.
“We hope to move in during the first part of August,” said Library Director Bette Ammon. “It’s all kinda soft, though.”
The grand opening, originally slated for July, was moved back based on progress made so far by Leone and Keeble Inc., the Spokane construction company in charge of the building. Despite the postponement, Ammon said she felt good about the progress.
“The windows are almost in. The brickwork has swung around to the Mullan side,” she said. “It’s very exciting.”
Part of the excitement comes from the extra space and additional services the library will offer patrons once it moves from its current cramped quarters on Harrison Avenue.
The new building will have 38,000 square feet compared to the 9,500 square feet in the current building. Parking will be expanded to 90 spaces from 35 spaces, and additional parking will be available at the adjacent City Hall lot.
“It’s four times bigger than the usable space we have now,” Ammon said.
The new library will accommodate expanded young adult and children’s sections as well as four times as many computer stations. A community room with a flexible seating area on the lower level will be used for presentations, plays and even city government.
“It will serve as City Council chambers,” Ammon said. “It’ll be wired for video conferencing. It’s pretty sweet.”
A used bookstore, Second Story Books, will help raise funds for the library. Volunteers from Friends of the Coeur d’Alene Library, a nonprofit support group, will staff the store.
Ammon said there’s plenty to be done on the building, including landscaping, drywall and the rest of the exterior. Following the construction, she said, the library will close for two weeks while all of the materials, furniture, computers and offices are moved from the old building to the new.
Ammon and David Townsend, library communications coordinator, visited Bozeman last fall to observe the library there move from one building to another. Ammon said the experience helped her plan the Coeur d’Alene Library’s move.