Forever Bricks Fundraiser

Make your mark on the new library!  The Huntsville Library and the Library Board are selling "Forever Bricks" to give the community an opportunity to make a lasting impression upon the new library building.  A personalized brick is an ideal way to honor a loved one or demonstrate your own commitment to the mission of the public library.  These "Forever Bricks" will make up the Plaza at the new entrance near 13th Street.

Each 4" x 8" "Forever Brick" is fired and guaranteed to last as least as long as the life of the library building.  The bricks are being sold for $20 each and can be engraved with up to two lines of text of the purchaser's choosing.  If you would like to contribute, fill out the form by clicking on one of the links below, print it out, and bring it by the library or mail it to us with your check made out to Huntsville Public Library.  Use the first link if you have Infopath on your computer, and use the second link if you do not.

Forever Bricks Fundraiser (Microsoft Infopath)

Forever Bricks Purchase Form (.pdf)

Temporary Walls and Concrete

Things are feeling a little claustrophobic at the library lately.  Temporary walls have been built inside the library in preparation for the existing walls to be torn down, and it's made the space inside a little smaller.  It's all worth it, though, since the end result will be a library building more than three times as large as the current one.  

Concrete has also been poured for the new west wing.  Check out the photos of the action below, and be sure to click on each image to enlarge it.  We've also set up a Flickr stream so you can see all the photographs of the renovation and expansion in one place.  It's got all of the photos from the blog as well as a few extras.  Go here to see it.

Children's Coordinator Janelle Valera helps mark off the north side of the building while the temporary walls are built.

The frame goes up on the east side.

Another shot of the frame on the east side.

A behind the scenes look of the action.

The completed frame on the east side.

The north side of the building before the temporary wall is built.

The sheet rock goes up.

The gaps are filled in with putty.

A shot of the west side foundation.

Colorful Library Plan

A few library visitors have asked to see a more easily-decipherable plan for the interior of the new building.  Your wish is our command!  Click on the image below to enlarge it.

Foundation Photos

These past couple of weeks, the construction crew has been working on the foundation for the new wings.  Take a look at the progress below!

The west wing is built up with tightly packed earth.

Concrete is poured for the foundation pillars in the new west wing.

Concrete is poured for the foundation pillars in the new east wing.

Another shot of the west wing.

Check out the story in the Huntsville Item about the renovation progress.

Construction Photos, Plus a Few Notes About Parking

It's the nature of large projects that things get messier before they get neater.  Witness the ongoing construction at the library, and you'll see what I mean.  Click on each photo to view it full-size.

So far, the contractor has been working outside only, but that will change soon enough.  Then the real excitement begins.

A few notes about parking:

• The city has added two handicapped parking spaces along 14th Street.  What was before a no parking zone is now reserved for handicapped patrons.
• Parking at the church parking lot is only allowed on the South side of the lot.  There is an orange line separating the sections to help you determine where you can park.
• Remember that the library has implemented a drive-thru service to assist our patrons with getting library materials.  You won't need to find a parking space - just call us and tell us what you'd like to check out, and we do the rest.  Read more about it here.

Parking

Parking at the library has become more of an adventure this week, mostly due to the fact that our parking lots now look like this:

The back parking lot of the library is torn up on Tuesday, August 24.

 As in most construction projects, the ground is the first thing to be torn up.  Parking on the side, front, and back of the library building has been closed for the duration of construction.  City staff were able to secure temporary parking elsewhere: on the far side of 14th Street away from the library building, at City Hall, and at St. James United Methodist Church on Avenue M.  We hope that these three options will allow citizens to continue visiting the library on a regular basis.

We ask that all library visitors enter the building at 14th Street, regardless of where you park.  The back entrance, located by the larger parking lot near the old records building, is now officially a construction zone, and no person may walk through it.  This is for your safety.

Due to the parking situation, the library has implemented a drive-thru service.  Call the library at 936-291-5472, tell us up to two items you'd like to check out (including DVDs or CDs, specific titles only, no subjects or authors), and we will pull the items for you, check them out to your card, and have them ready for pick-up two hours later.  When you drive up to the front door, toot your horn and we will bring your items to you.  You must present either your library card or your driver license to receive your items.

Please call us if you have questions about parking or the drive-thru service.  We hope to make this exciting project as painless as possible!

A view of the side parking lot being torn up Tuesday morning.

Groundbreaking

At 5:00 PM yesterday, the library held a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the old records building.  Many Huntsville citizens braved the heat to attend the ceremony, including the mayor and city council, the city manager, members of the feasibility committee, Library Board and Friends members, and a number of others.  Mayor J. Turner and Councilmembers Dalene Zender and Charles Forbus delivered brief remarks before ground was broken.  A brief reception - including refreshments - was held inside the library following the ceremony.

Couldn't make it to the ceremony?  View the program, click on the photo below to view it full-size (courtesy of photographer Matthew Jackson), or read more about the ceremony in the Huntsville Item.  We are now full speed ahead for construction, so make sure to check the library website and the blog frequently for any updates, particularly notices of brief closings or parking interruptions.

Members of the project team, library staff, Friends, Library Board, donors, and feasibility committee break ground at the ceremony.

Interior Design

The interior design has been finalized!  See the images below for the architect's final plan, as well as the artist's rendering of the exterior.  Be sure to click on each image to enlarge it.  To view an even larger image of the interior design which can be magnified, click the following link to download the .pdf file: Interior Design - Final

Architect's final interior design

Artist's rendering of the exterior of the new library building

Books on the Move

If you've been to the library within the past two weeks, you may have noticed that some things seem a bit...out of place.

Since the contractor was chosen, library staff and volunteers have been hard at work moving books away from the east wall in preparation for the beginning of construction.  Groundbreaking is set for August 17 (date may change), and the first thing to go will be that wall.  All the shelves against the wall need to be cleared for that to happen, which means that all children's materials, including young adult, juvenile, easy readers, and picture books, had to be consolidated and moved westward.  Staff utilized empty space nearer the middle of the building and crammed those shelves full of books.

The result?  An entire wall of empty shelves.  The difference is striking!  Remember to check the renovation blog and the library website frequently for notices about construction, including any closings.

The books on the east wall...

...were moved westward.

Contractor Chosen for Renovation and Expansion

At last night's City Council meeting, LDF Construction of Spring, Texas was approved as the contractor for the library's renovation and expansion.  LDF Construction is not new to Huntsville projects - they also worked on the HEARTS Veteran's Museum last year.

Construction is still expected to begin in August and will take approximately one year to complete.  See the article in the Huntsville Item for more details.

Fire Station Demolition

The old fire station and EMS building came down today at about 2:30 PM.  If you missed all the action, not to worry - we've got lots of photographs below!

The intact fire station as it was just a few hours ago.

  The demolition begins behind the library building.

The demolition continues.

A good shot of the inside of the fire station as it's being demolished.

The building collapses.

The view from Avenue M.

Request for Bids

On June 13, the city of Huntsville officially put out a request for bids.  This means that from now until 2:00 PM on Wednesday, July 7, contractors will be submitting their bids to furnish all plant, labor, materials, and equipment required for the completion of the library's renovation and expansion.  On that day, the proposals will be opened and read aloud.

A pre-bid conference will take place on Wednesday, June 23 at 10:00 AM at the city service center.  The request for bids was placed in the Sunday issue of the Huntsville Item's Legals section, and will run again on the 20th.  Construction is expected to begin late this summer.

Meanwhile, the old records building has been cleared of asbestos, and more trees have been transplanted (see image below).

Save a Tree (or Two)

Yesterday, the city removed two trees - a crape myrtle and a magnolia - from the library's backyard in preparation for construction. Rather than being chopped down, the trees were transplanted to beautify other city locations. How exactly does that work? Take a look at the photos of the crape myrtle below.

Step One: The tree is dug up and the roots secured with rope.














Step Two: Cones are placed around the tree to separate it from the rest of the lawn.






Step Three: The tree is removed and the hole filled in with dirt.




The magnolia was transplanted in the same way:




Be sure to also check out the mini-story in the Huntsville Item.

Soil and Zoning

Soil Samples
Remember the soil and vapor samples taken at the library a couple of weeks ago? Terracon Consultants, Inc. completed their analysis some days ago. You can read about the results in an article by the Huntsville Item.

Zoning

On Friday, May 21, the City's Zoning Board of Adjustment held a public meeting to discuss the library's request for a waiver, which was granted. Read more details in an article by the Walker Free Press.

Libraries - Quiet Sanctuaries?

If you came to the library this morning expecting to get in some quiet study time, you were probably interrupted for a short while by some not-so-quiet noise. Workers drilled six holes at various places within the library and placed tubes down the holes to collect vapor samples. The tubes will remain for a couple of days, and then the samples will be sent to a lab where they will be tested for hydrocarbons.

Luckily, the noise interruptions were brief! We appreciate everyone's patience as the library renovation and expansion gets underway. Today's sample collection will help ensure that no contaminants are released from beneath the building when construction begins in the next few months.

A hole is drilled by the back door.

A hole is drilled on the staff side of the circulation desk.

A tube is inserted into the hole behind the circulation desk to collect vapor samples.

The tube is cut down to size.

Putty is placed around the tube to hold it in place. Six of these tubes were placed in six holes throughout the library.

Geotechnical Work

This morning, geotechnical engineers brought their drilling rig and dug up parts of our parking lot to take soil samples. Doing this helps the engineers gain an understanding of the earth upon which our new building will rest and assist with the planning of the new building's foundation. Click on each of the images below to enlarge: