Charles City Public Library will be closed for floor replacement project

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Public Library will have limited service over the next couple of weeks as the building undergoes a floor renovation project.

Starting today (Tuesday), the library is expected to be closed until at least Feb. 23 as new tiling is put into the building’s lobby area.

The project to replace the tiling was funded through a $34,000 grant from the Leonard and Matilda Andres Trust. Replacing the tiling became a priority as wear and tear on the existing flooring had become a tripping hazard, said library Director Annette Dean.

“Some of the grout was breaking and there were a lot of cracks,” Dean said. “It was showing quite a bit of wear.”

Due to the building being closed, return dates on checked-out materials have been extended to Feb. 24th, though the book drop will be open for anybody who wants to make an early return.

Dean said she also hopes that curbside pickup will be available at some point next week, depending on how far the renovation has gone.

“Our goal is to have that offered by February 14, but that is a tentative date,” said Dean.

In the meantime, while work is being done on the floors, the library staff will be taking advantage of the downtime to do some facility projects of their own, such as reorganizing books and painting the children’s room.

And while some activities will be on hold until the building re-opens, other programs will have temporary alternative locations. Tuesday board games will be held at the Senior Center and Youth Director Stacey Leerhoff will be visiting area schools, bringing the library to the kids instead of the other way around.

While it will be an unconventional couple of weeks for the library, Dean said she is looking forward to reopening and will be answering calls and checking messages throughout the process.

“We appreciate the community being patient with us as we work our way through this,” said Dean. “It should be nice when it’s all done.”