Renovations began this week on the Kent Regional Library, closing the building for the next four to six months.
Library patrons will still be able to access a few of the library’s features at a temporary branch on Meeker Street, but the majority of the 1,000 or more people who visit the library each day will just have to wait until the improvements are complete.
Managing Librarian Judy Renzema is upbeat about the closure because it means the renovations promised on a $172 million 2004 library bond are finally coming to fruition.
“It’s exciting to know the construction is going to happen and we’ll have something better,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a really good thing in the end.”
The closure and renovations are driven by the addition of a new machine that will allow patrons to check in their own books. The machine will process the books and get them back to the shelves quicker, freeing up staff to be more available to the public.
“Now we have five or six people sitting back there eight hours a day checking books,” Renzema said.
But because of the shape and design of the building, major renovations are necessary to fit the new machine into the current library, including moving the current entrance and lobby, as well as the restrooms and the crew work room.
According to Renzema, the new entrance will be perpendicular to the present entrance, coming in through what used to be the media section. The current entrance, lobby and public meeting rooms will become the staff work room and house the new equipment.
The bathrooms and the public meeting room will be moved inside, near where the current staff work room is located. Plans also call for the public meeting rooms to be enlarged and to feature a glass front that can be rolled back to allow access for library patrons when the room is not being used.
“It will become a public space,” Renzema said.
The movement of the restrooms inside the library from their current position out in the lobby also will increase security at the library by allowing the staff more control over who comes and goes.
“We are very excited about the fact the public restrooms will be moved inside the library,” Renzema said.
Unfortunately, while the renovations may be good in the long run, in the short term, it means nearly six months without one of the busiest libraries in the King County library system.
The temporary library is located at 406 A Meeker St. Hours are 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday.
In addition, Tuesday story times are set for 7 – 8 p.m and at 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays for pre-schoolers and babies, respectively.
For more information, call 253-859-3330.
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