Children's Room Completed!

The Children's Room and Our Next Steps

 

We're very pleased that the Children's Room addition to McFarlen Library has been completed, and is already being enjoyed by local families! If you've not visited lately, please stop by and check it out!

 

New Early Literacy Stations (Upper L) and new shelf caps (R)

The addition contains "Easy Readers" and new games and activities

Another view of building addition

Now that the Children's Room is completed, our focus has shifted to both the Teen Room and sitting area near the newspapers and magazines. Just this week library staff came together and reviewed furniture options for each of these spaces. Also in progress is a vast collection of modern signage which will appear in all areas of the library. It will help people new to our building efficiently locate exactly what they need. As always, stay tuned for future updates!

 



Construction Update #7

Children's Room Progress!

 

On Monday and Tuesday of this week the carpeting was installed in our children's room! The funding for this carpet was generously donated by the Grand Blanc Community Fund, part of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint. We are tremendously grateful for this gift!

 

Almost done! 3/23/15



With the carpet laid, the design team can move forward with the interior remodel of both the children and teen spaces. The children's shelving units you see above will be lowered for ease of access and provide an unobstructed view across the room. We are also gaining children's computer stations and additional seating space for our growing community. Keep checking back for more updates!

 

Carpet installed!



Construction Update #6

Construction Continues...slowly

It's been quite a while since we last updated you on the progress of our renovation. There have been some issues that have arisen which have slowed us down, mainly in the Children's area, which are preventing the carpet from being laid. Because some shelving from the Children's room will be used in the new Teen space, the Teen renovations have also been paused. 

Hopefully the carpet will be laid soon and the renovations will be completed by the end of March. We appreciate your continued patience as we expand and improve your library!

Construction Update #4 - Interior Work Begins

Interior Renovations Begin!

While the exterior work continues, the big change this week at the library is the start of our planned interior improvements. During the next couple weeks you'll notice additional noise as the crew reconfigures shelving and shifts material around the building. Our priority is to provide uninterrupted service during this time of transition, so the library will remain fully open.

 

Here's a summary of what you'll notice this week:

 

1. All public computers will be moved into the hall leading toward the business center, taking the place of our audio book collection. Audio books have been relocated to the START of the non-fiction section. The audio books will remain here going forward. We will also receive an additional 4 computers to reduce the time you wait for a terminal during peak hours for a total of 21 in the branch.

 

Workers assembling the new computer desks



2. The reference collection and paperbacks in rotating racks that currently occupy a large area in the large reading room will be moved to upright shelving alongside the fiction. You'll notice that the shelving in the hall was removed; this will be repurposed in the reading room to hold the paperbacks and reference collection. The existing fiction shelving will also be shortened to create additional floor space. With the rotating paperback racks and short reference shelves removed, this will create better flow in the room. The low shelves in the foreground and the spinning wood racks on the right of the below picture will be removed.

 

Constructing shelves for reference and paperbacks



3. Our large collection of movies and television series will be moved to the reading room. Every DVD will now be placed on a shelf which will make locating exactly what you're looking for that much easier. The current location of our DVD collection, in front of the large picture window, will become a sitting area to browse our print magazine collection.

 

DVDs and magazines will swap locations



4. The Children's Room now contains a temporary wall to shield patrons from the work going on to connect the new children's addition and the existing building. So, this room is a little tight for the time being, but be assured it will be much larger once the construction is complete!

 

Temporary wall in Children's Room



5. The community room storage addition has been roofed, and you can get a sneak peak of the interior below. The community room itself is packed with materials, including the new chairs which will accompany the new computer lab.

 

New chairs and construction equipment

Inside the new storage area! Still being completed.



 

Check back soon for additional updates! We're very excited!

 

 

 



Construction Update #2

29 October 2014

The work continues after yesterday's rain.   

Foundation Built

Foundation Sealed

Floor Filled and Foundation Buried

Children's Room addition facing Perry Rd.

Pardon Our Mess...

Fall is Construction Season

October 20 Update

If you've been to the library in the past few days you know that the construction has begun for our two new building additions, both made possible by Dr. & Mrs. Claffey! One addition will expand Community Room, the other will create new space for our lively Children's Room. The business blog will document the changes and post photos as the construction progresses. This expansion project is going to greatly benefit the library and our community. During this period, which will continue into January, the circle drive on the West side of the building won't be accessible, but the large lot in the back won't be affected.

In addition to the building expansion, the interior of McFarlen Library will also be transformed in the coming months. Our teens will gain a dedicated room and existing library space will be organized to maximize existing square footage. Look for these changes to begin sometime in November. 

20 October 2014 - Preparing for the foundation, Community Room expansion

20 October, view of the Community Room exterior wall

Outlining the Children's Room addition, facing Perry Rd.

Another view of the Children's Room extension