The Bloomington Public Library will be closed for just less than a week as library staff prepare to move services from one end of the building to another amidst ongoing construction work.
The closure started Monday and will run through Sunday, Oct. 15, according to a library news release. The library will reopen on Monday, Oct. 16.
Since a large, $25 million renovation project at BPL kicked off last year, library services have been offered on the east side of the building while the west side underwent construction.
This week's closure is to allow staff to move library materials, computers, phone lines and other equipment to the building's west side so the construction can begin on the east side. Staff expect to resume responding to phone calls, emails or text inquiries by Friday, Oct. 13.
BPL's east parking lot also is closed indefinitely, according to the release. A standalone book dropbox will be put up in the west side parking lot.
The library's Bookmobile service will not be impacted by the closure and will run as normal.
When BPL's on-site services resume, they will be in the newly constructed portion of the library.
In a statement, library director Jeanne Hamilton said staff are "excited to move into the new space and to reveal the new space to patrons."
When complete, the expansion will have added more than 21,000 square feet to the current building, renovate more than 50,000 square feet of the current library, and add parking space.
