We made it!

With a little help from our friends and a lot of late nights and early mornings, the Richland Public Library opened its doors back at the home location on Friday, July 17th. A parade of about 100 kids, parents and our reading dogs carried the last of the books from the temporary location up the street a couple of blocks where hundreds more were waiting to get the first glimpse of how their tax dollars are being spent.

Richland City Mayor John Fox, City Manager Cindy Johnson, Library Board Chair Sally O'Neal, Library Manager Ann Roseberry and past Library Manager, Wayne Suggs were among the dignitaries speaking and also helped cut the ribbon into the newly expanded library. The Knights of Columbus also had a flag dedication ceremony. The Knights dedicated the flag pole to the library and have maintained the flag for many years and have agreed to continue doing so.

Library staff worked until nearly midnight the night before the big reveal and were back at work by 6:00 a.m. trying to get things running smoothly. Opening day, however, did not go without an occasional glitch like the library card machine crashing, the self checks going a little spastic and staff trying to figure out a brand new checkout system with virtually no training!

If you've been in, you might have noticed the lack of signage - we promise there will be signs SOON! Right now, pretend the library is your own little place to hold a scavenger hunt. Staff will be happy to try and help you find what you are looking for, but it might take a few minutes because we are still adjusting ourselves.

What to expect in the next few weeks: SIGNS, Automated Book Drops, new Login software on the computers, The Friends Book Sale Room, Coffee Shop, additional attractions in both the Richland Room and the Story Circle, and meeting rooms for use.

Remember to mark your calendars for Saturday, August 8th. Big Open House @ the Library from 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. Entertainment for the entire family all day long. Watch for special appearances by Children's Musician, Eric Herman and an evening of Blues with the Thunder River Boys and the JavaTones just to name a few.

Almost there...

It is just a few short days until we open the doors of the fantastically beautiful new and improved Richland Public Library to its owners - you, the taxpayers of Richland. Staff, along with our buddies at Chervenell, Perfection Glass, Larsen Transfer, Spacesaver and a few others have been working night and day to open up on time.

Over the past 10 days, over 6,000 shelves have been installed, all the books and other library materials have arrived in the Larsen trucks and have been unloaded onto said shelves. The story circle is currently being installed and today, the tables and chairs are arriving. If you look outside, you will see the new benches and garbage cans out front along with the art piece of the two children reading that has been relocated from John Dam Plaza.

Last week, the Library Foundation held a dessert gala where over 200 people purchased tickets to attend the fundraiser for the Richland Room Collection that will showcase local history. Special guests at this function included staff who worked in the old library before it became the new library, that became the old library and now is new again!

Que Sera Sera

This is our motto for the next few weeks. Whatever will be, will be. We're right in the middle of packing and hope to start our move Monday July 6th. We are freaked out by the whole thing, and have pretty much decided that we have NO schedule for this move. We are going to wing the heck out of this thing! (Which, for the usually well organized librarian is a terrible thing indeed)

However, we are committed to opening up again on the 17th of July. We decided we would rather move over as soon as we were able to operate at a functional level, so that we could avoid another month's rent, so that we could open our doors to our patrons as soon as possible, and so that we could be back home in a building with working plumbing. What that means to you is you will have the opportunity to play "I Spy" in the new building while hunting down the new items arriving each week.

I know that some of you might have noticed the extreme emotions running through the staff at this time. Rest assured, we should all be back to our normal happy fun (sane) selves by about... December? No, really we should be ready to have fun and party on both July 17th for the Ribbon Cutting ceremony, and on August 8th for the Grand Open House.

During the next two weeks, we will try to keep you posted on what's happening in the library and look forward to seeing each and every one of you at the ribbon cutting ceremony on July 17th. The parade will begin at 9:30 and start at the temporary location at 1270 Lee Blvd., and finish up two blocks away at our real home of 955 Lee Blvd. The Ribbon Cutting ceremony will begin at 10:00 am, and the doors should open by 10:30am.

Stay cool and we'll see y'all in two weeks!

Theresa

Beware of flying Peeps!

The staff is starting to freak out at a rapid pace now, realizing that Opening Day is just FOUR WEEKS AWAY! We are in the midst of so many projects that have to be completed before we can open and it seems each and every day, something new gets added. If you happen to be walking past the back staff area and hear strange noises like thumps or screams, just ignore us - chances are, we are throwing something against the wall in frustration! Our favorites include some stale Peeps left on a desk months back, a cush ball, a super ball and a couple of stuffed items. We are trying to maintain our composure while we are out in the main area, but if you happen to witness a small temper tantrum, know that it is nothing our patrons have done, it is just stress getting to us and either ignore us, or feel free to offer us chocolate!

Over at the site, the upstairs that was so huge and open in months past, is now being filled with book shelves and it is beginning to look a lot like a library. Outside, they are finishing up the landscaping and the patios. On the main floor, the last of the carpeting is being installed in the meeting rooms and the finish wood work and tile work is coming to completion.

Mark your calendars for two big dates - Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and first day back "home" will be Friday, July 17th. On this day, we will have speeches and dedications and formal ceremonies before you get to peek inside.

The big blow-out party day will be Saturday, August 8th from 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. On this day, we will have local musicians, jugglers, remote control cars and planes, Eric Herman performing for the kids, face painting, and to end the evening, the JavaTones will be blasting out the blues!

Until next week, Lisa

We need a nap...

Well, it is 21 days before we close this place down to move back home, and almost all of the staff has been putting in extra hours both in planning the move back, and in getting this place ready to move. We have placed RFID tags in almost all the books, with just the last half of non-fiction and the biographies to go. We are cataloging and processing the Richland Collection materials, including some very interesting old Corps of Engineers documents from 1947. We are also eagerly awaiting the delivery of our "Opening Day Collection" materials that need to be finalized before they can go out on the shelves. We are very very tired right now!

Over in the library, it is positively swarming with people. The carpet is almost finished, the handrails are being installed in some staircases. The elevators are in working order. The bathrooms better be in working order by the time I have to start working over there. Everything is beginning to come together.

Shelving was delivered yesterday, and already the upstairs has lots of shelves roughed out. It does diminish the open feeling a bit, but it's still a beautiful space and I know you will all love the second floor.

This was the first day that we could really see the impact that no school has on our facility. Summer reading sign-ups for both children and teens are going like gangbusters, and several people have inquired about our first ever Adult Summer Reading program. That will actually begin on July 27 and go through sometime in September, so be on the lookout for that when we reopen.

Just a little reminder. Absolutely Nothing Nothing NOTHING is due back on July 3 -July 17. So please, unless you really feel the need, don't worry about returning material to the library while we are closed. We will be closing our book drop at 1270 Lee Blvd. on July 2 at 5:00 pm, and nothing will be able to be returned to this building after that. The book drop at 955 Northgate will more than likely be open by July 3, but I'm not promising anything right now. Also, while we are closed, there will be no telephone service. You will still be able to monitor your account online, so make sure you know your user id and pin number before we close. If you have any questions about any of this, just inquire at any of the service desks in the library.

Enjoy your weekend, and get some sleep. I know I plan on doing so!

Theresa