Library could let bid for one million dollar expansion by January 1st

Above, Librarian Ramona Engler and board Chairman Keith Adcock look over plans for the library’s expansion slated for construction next spring.-Bobbie Foust/Herald Ledger

Lyon County Public Library’s nearly $1 million expansion and renovation project should be ready to seek bids before Jan. 1. And construction likely will begin in the spring.
The library has adequate funding to pay for at least most of the expansion. The added space and services means the library will need an additional four to five employees including a full-time computer technician.
The 1,800-square-foot expansion will be built on the south end of the existing building, which fronts on Commerce Street. A proposed outdoor garden area south of the expansion awaits board approval, said board Chairman Keith Adcock.
Adcock hopes the expansion will allow the library to pick up some programs the schools are forced to cut because of budget constraints.
The added space will house a new teen area — a special hangout for youths with a snack bar and tables at its east end; a computer room with an additional 12 computer stations and a casual reading lounge with a corner fireplace, a flat screen television, chairs and tables. The library has six computer stations now and the added stations will mean more patrons will have high tech access. The computer room will be glass so library employees can see what’s going on.
“If somebody just wants to go in (the lounge) it will be an area where they can close the doors and read the papers or something like that,” Adcock said. “The courthouse is so close to us, we wanted to have a place if (courthouse employees) wanted to come down and just relax in the afternoon or during their lunch hour, they would have a place to do that.”
The teen room will have a television and lunge chairs. Librarians will be able to see and supervise teens using the area. “It will be a safe place for them to be,” Adcock said.
The lounge will have an exit into the garden area (if approved), and the garden will be landscaped around the existing trees. “We’re going to have a little stage here where (patrons) may have plays or play music,” Adcock said.
The large meeting room, the children’s room and the genealogy room will remain where they are as will the main library. The children’s room will have a projector and puppet platform. However, the main library will undergo rearrangement and the Native American artifacts collection now in the genealogy room, will be displayed throughout the main part of the building to give the public better access to see it. The collection, which belonged to Shelby Hodge, was donated to the library several years ago.
Security will be greatly enhanced with cameras, alarms and restricted entrances. Patrons will enter and exit through the existing lobby entrance, which will be made handicapped accessible.
“We will have alarms so when you walk in and walk out an alarm will sound,” Adcock said. “So if someone walks out of here with something that’s not posted (or property checked out), the alarm will sound. Also if someone brings a gun or any kind of weapon, they can’t come in.”
Librarian Ramona Engler and the women board members will decide how the renovated and expanded library is decorated, Adcock said. “It will be a place that Lyon County will be proud of because it’s going to show some heritage, and it’s going to get people wanting to come to the library,” he said.
The exterior will all be stone and the roof will be replaced, he said. “The addition will look just like the rest of the library. That’s one thing we really wanted — the same look as it has now. Our taxpayers are going to be able to see that (their taxes) work for them.”