Take a Second Look!

From this angle on Main Street, the front of the Library looks a lot like it used to, but there are some important differences.  How many can you spot?

Computer Delivery!

ALL of the computers for the new building have arrived! That is some big pile of boxes - all full of equipment waiting to be configured and installed.  Opening day is getting closer!

It's peaceful on the outside...

...but inside the building at 472 Main Street, it is a beehive of activity.  People keep asking, "What is going on over there?  Why are there so many cars?"

In a word, what is going on is "Everything!"  On any given day, the building is swarming with workmen and -women: carpenters hanging door frames and installing acoustical ceiling tiles, painters priming and finishing walls on all three floors, plasterers at work on restoration of the Morris Memorial rooms, electricians and A/V technicians running electrical, cable, data and phone lines in an amazing spider's web connecting every part of the building.

Saving Money and Resources

Library Executive Assistant Leslie Vuilleumier is always on the look-out for ways to save money and resources. While a lot of the furniture that had been in use in the old library was truly falling apart after years of hard use, Leslie was able to identify several dozen chairs and tables that could still be useful with a little TLC.  Then she called Correctional Enterprises of Connecticut, a state program that trains prison inmates in several useful trades, including high-quality furniture re-finishing and re-upholstery.  CEC supervisors came and collected our items and brought them back mere weeks later, looking like new.  And the charge was a fraction of what new purchases would have cost.  Thanks, Leslie!

Before: Dark and dirty after years of hard use

After: Clean and re-finished to match newly purchased furnishings

Drive-Up Book Drop on Tap

Many people have asked whether we can have a drive-through book drop at the New Ridgefield Library.  A full drive "through" option would take up more parking spaces than we want to lose, so we have planned a drive "up" alternative.

A return box will be positioned to the left of a designated parking space at the front of the building, so people can pull in, load their returns into the box through the driver's side window without getting out of the car, then back out and continue on their way. Fast and easy!

The outside book return box has already been purchased, and we are putting it to good use at the temporary library on Governor Street!

Landscaping Underway at 472 Main Street

There is still plenty of work going on inside the New Ridgefield Library (sheetrock walls and millwork doorframes are going up everywhere), but the site itself looks more and more finished.  In the picture below, you can see rolls of sod being laid so they can "take" before the weather is too frigid, along with one of the new trees that has been planted.  And check out the striping on the parking lot!

Planning for Programs in the New Ridgefield Library

Our busy program planners are already filling in the calendar for the spring and summer of 2014, when we will be moving into the New Ridgefield Library and able to take advantage of the additional space and expanded resources it will offer.  We will have two main program rooms on the lower level, which can be opened up into one big space for popular events like Ridgefield Folk concerts (look for Kim and Reggie Harris in May). In the picture below, you can see the ceiling track which will hold the room divider making this possible. There will also be two program spaces in the Children's Library, a technology resource center and a board room for meetings. 

YA Will Be Teens in the New Library

“Divergent” by Veronica Roth, “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer and “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins used to be in our YA (Young Adult) fiction collection. Now, to find one of those titles, you need to go to our Teen fiction collection. 

The Future Business Leaders of America from Ridgefield High School spent several hours in the Ridgefield Library on October 24, helping us re-label the entire YA Fiction collection. These cheerful teenagers spent their volunteer time sticking new labels that read “Teen” over old labels that read “YA”, then taping the labels down.  They handled several thousand books and helped us quickly make the transition to the collection’s new designation. 

Why did we make this change? Well, we have a staff position called Teen Services Librarian, who works with our Teen Advisory Group. The Teen Services Librarian serves people in middle school and high school; they are ages 12-18; they are teens, not young adults. “YA” is a jargon-y term that book publishers’ marketing departments use. It seems right to eliminate it from the Library, and to use a word that is clearer, more accurate, and reflects what our patrons call themselves: teens.

When the New Ridgefield Library opens in the spring, there will be a new Teen Room for these patrons - the first dedicated space for this age group we have ever offered, where they will be able to study together, chat about books, play games and more.

Friends Tour the New Library

The Friends of the Ridgefield Library board recently toured the jobsite for the New Ridgefield Library.  Here they are seen standing in one of the spaces that has been allotted to them for sorting and storage of donations for their signature used book sales.    BTW, their big fall book sale is underway this weekend, Friday through Monday - details are at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org.

RFID Tagging Underway!

Adult Services Librarian Dorothy Pawlowski and Friends of the Library President Rhonda Hill hard at work "tagging."  With the help of the Friends and other volunteers, the Library staff are placing a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag in every book and other item we own.  This will allow us to introduce a new automated circulation system in the new Library that will be more accurate and efficient. It will automatically check items out without finding and scanning barcodes.  The book return slot will feed directly into an automated materials handling conveyor belt that will check things in and sort by department.  Anyone interested in volunteering to help out with this project should contact Mary Rindfleisch at 203-438-2282 x1009 or mfrind@ridgefieldlibrary.org - no experience necessary!

TAG Previews New Teen Room

Members of the Library's Teen Advisory Group (TAG) had the opportunity last week to get a "hard hat tour" of the new library construction project.  Here they are posing in the shell of what will be the new Teen Room.  The Library has never before had a dedicated space for teens, and this group is very excited about the possibilities! 

Construction photos 9-19-13

Construction photos 9-19-13, a set on Flickr.

Here you can see the north elevation of the building coming together on the outside. Lots of interior work is also underway, including the main stairway off the lobby and the elevator shaft. The elevator itself has arrived and will be installed soon!

What a Difference a Week Makes!

 Check out these two shots of the same section of the New Library, taken about a week apart.  Isn't it amazing what a few windows and some brick on the facade can do?  This is really beginning to look like something recognizable now!

Work on installing glass and brickwork continues full speed this week. 

Thanks to staff member Geri Diorio for these great pictures.

Is this where I return a book?

Believe it or not, people still regularly drive or walk onto the construction site at 472 Main Street trying to return a book or attend a program.  Our construction crew had to deal with so many puzzled people that we finally put up a sign directing folks down the street to our temporary location.

We are definitely still open for business, but you will have to go down the street to 21 Governor Street for storytime or summer reading recommendations!

Construction photos 5-29-13

Construction photos 5-29-13, a set on Flickr.

The concrete slab floor for the lower level of the new Library is in place! Steel for the upper structure is being delivered next week. The building is really taking shape now!

Memorial Day Parade 2013

Memorial Day Parade 2013, a set on Flickr.

Here we are in our hardhats on a beautiful afternoon for a parade. We got lots of enthusiastic cheers for the New Ridgefield Library from our friends and supporters along Main Street.

Memorial Day at the Ridgefield Library

Memorial Day on the Jobsite, a set on Flickr.

The construction crew working on the New Ridgefield Library took a few minutes this week to decorate the site for the Memorial Day holiday.  The Library in its interim location will be closed Sunday and Monday for the holiday, but you can find Library staff marching in the parade on Monday, complete with our hard hats!

Construction Photos 5-13-13

Construction Photos 5-13-13, a set on Flickr.

Here are the latest photos from the jobsite at 472 Main Street. Look closely and you can see plumbing pipes and fixtures for the lower level! Click on a photo to enlarge and to see a description.

Construction photos 5-6-13

Construction photos 5-6-13, a set on Flickr.

Once construction gets "out of the ground" as they say in the trades, it can really rise fast! After weeks of digging down into the ground (seemingly to China!), the crew is now busy pouring concrete to form footings and foundations - and more. The tall towers are shafts for stairwells.