Library to close doors through August

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Public Library will be closed for about a month as the building undergoes a follow-up flooring renovation project.

Starting Thursday, Aug. 10, the library is expected to be closed for up to four weeks while the lobby flooring is replaced. In the meantime, plans are being made to disrupt library programming as little as possible.

While the library will be completely closed during the first week, Library Director Annette Dean anticipates being able to start up curbside pick-up as early as Aug. 16.

Tuesday’s Tech Time events will be cancelled during the closure, but other programming will continue. Tuesday morning Scrabble Club will meet at Aromas during the closure, the Wednesday morning walking group will continue to gather at the library parking lot, and August kids activities will instead be held at Central Park.

This is the second time this year that the library will be closed for floor renovations.

After receiving a grant to replace the lobby flooring to reduce tripping hazards, the library was closed for several weeks to install new floor tiles.

“Unfortunately, they did not do a good job,” said Dean.

Not only did the project take longer than anticipated, but the flooring wasn’t leveled during the installation of the new tiling, leaving the tiles uneven and creating an even greater tripping hazard than when they started, she said.

“Seventy percent of the floor right now poses a tripping concern,” said Dean.

With a new contractor scheduled and a plan to replace the tiles with a vinyl laminate, Dean hopes that this will be the last time the library has to have an unscheduled closing for a long while.