Library to close Saturday for six weeks of work

The Grafton public library will close for renovations at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, with a planned reopening Thursday, Oct. 8.

While the library is shut down, patrons won’t incur fines on overdue materials and they won’t be able to return items to the Grafton facility.

They will, however, be able to drop things off at other Monarch Library System libraries, the closest of which are in Saukville and Cedarburg.

An opening reception is being planned for the evening of Oct. 7, although that’s tentative depending on construction.

“We’re very excited,” Library Director Amanda Kloppman said Tuesday. “I’m excited for it to start, but I’m also very anxious.”

For much of the next week, movers will work their way through the library measuring things, and once it closes Saturday they will begin to methodically box up the books, she said.

At the same time, Kloppman said, they will move data lines, add outlets, remove lighting and begin to dismantle and store furniture.

“It’s going to be a demo week,” she said.

The library will then undergo a massive transformation. Much of the work will be centered on the main floor, but there will also be improvements on the lower level, where the youth library is housed.

The changes will include everything from updating and replacing furniture and failing fixtures to painting and other upgrades.
The impetus was failing shelves. The existing shelving, which dates to 1988, is made of particleboard that has bowed through the years.

“We’ve been flipping the boards over to try and straighten them, but when it gets to a certain point they snap,” Kloppman said.

The improvements are being funded through a bequest from the late Mary Ann Klug, an avid library user.

  “When I got this donation, I thought, this is what we’re going to do with it. It’s going to make a better library,” Kloppman said.

The bottom shelf of the new shelving units will be angled so patrons can read the book titles without bending over or kneeling, and the shelving will be on wheels so it can be moved around to accommodate programs or when the layout needs to be changed.

Lighting that’s currently attached to the top of the existing shelving will also be replaced and the library will be repainted.

The library will also replace its tables and chairs, Kloppman said, and the carpeting will be deep cleaned.

Better signage to help people navigate the library and its collections, as well as changes to make the facility more accessible, will also be part of the work.

While the library is closed, Kloppman said, staff members will be at work, organizing the youth workroom, creating decorations for next year’s summer reading program and going through the storage area to see what should be kept and what should be tossed.

“I’m not super excited about closing the library for six weeks. I don’t want to do that to the community,” Kloppman said. “I’m hoping people are excited about the changes. I think this will be worth the wait.”