HARDWICK – Phase Two of the Jeudevine Library construction project is underway. By the time you read this, most, if not all, of the sheetrocking will be complete. Taping will quickly follow.
Meanwhile, varying clusters of trustees have visited Diane at the library to pore over wood samples, carpet fragments and paint chips in an effort to arrive at a consensus over the interior color schemes.
A significant milestone in the project will be reached this week as the connection between the old and new buildings will be created. That juncture is along the west wall of the original Jeudevine, behind the adult bookshelves. It will connect onto a walkway running north-south in the addition where one can turn left to walk into the new children’s/young adult areas, or right to step down a short staircase onto the main Church Street entry area. The circulation desk and librarian’s office will be at the base of the stairs. A third option, as one passes from old into new, is to use the elevator to drop down a few feet to the Church Street level, or to access the basement level where the Community Room, kitchen, rest rooms, a small conference room and an area for library staff will be.
In preparation for breaking through from the original Jeudevine, bookshelves have been emptied. The workspace is narrow as the bookcases along the west wall are barely a yard from the next row of bookcases. The latter are lovely original oak pieces, massive, standing about seven feet high with crown molding tops, and they are joined back-to-back and bolted in ways that will only truly be understood as workers (gingerly) dismantle them to create a wider workspace. There is a slim hope that the breakthrough, which will involve chainsawing through the original stone and inner masonry, might be achieved without the need to move the freestanding shelves. Stay tuned.
This is the first work that will actually cause some disruption to the day-to-day operation of the Jeudevine. From Wednesday, Dec. 11, through Friday, Dec. 13, and again from Monday, Dec. 16, through Thursday, Dec. 19, the Jeudevine building will be closed to the public. The Jeudevine will be open on Saturday, Dec. 14, as usual from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. On the days that the Jeudevine is closed, the library staff will be operating out of the top floor of the Memorial Building. Computers will be available for use, as usual.
Some books, especially children’s and new selections, will be available there, as will some DVDs. For other book loans, the library staff should be able to arrange to bring books from across the street to the Memorial Building for later pick-up.
The library staff will continue all regular library programs during this period. That slate of programming includes a Writing Group for children ages 8 and above at 3 p.m., on Wednesday, Dec. 11; story time at 10:30 a.m., on both Thursdays, Dec. 12, and Dec. 19; button making (buttons to wear as pins, not buttons to keep your clothes done up) for teens at 3 p.m., on Wednesday, Dec. 18 and a special snow-themed story time on Thursday, Dec. 19, at 3 p.m., for ages 7-10.
As shorter days herald the onset of winter, the approaching holidays and the close of a calendar year, this writer remembers Gazette sports writer Dave Morse’s December tradition of bequeathing hoped-for gifts upon various readers, in a Santa-list format. Following Dave’s gracious example, I have a very short list for our most wonderful town: a magnificent addition to our library, one that will grant it the capacity to enrich more lives in more ways for decades to come.
