LEWISTON – Jack Lyons said he made do with some old books he’d forgotten in the back of his closet while the Lewiston Public Library’s doors were shut last month.
“Plus, I took out a whole bunch of books before it closed, so I had plenty to keep me busy,” said Lyons, who lives in Lewiston.
He was back this week, browsing the reorganized stacks, sitting in the new reading area and generally enjoying the improvements.
The library reopened Monday after being closed for two weeks to finish off a year’s worth of construction and $2.7 million worth of renovations.
Lyons and his friend Gerald Bodkin were pleased to have it back.
“The best thing is, they’ve got more room and that means they’ve got more books out,” Lyons said. He had a ball finding old books he hasn’t come across in a long while.
“When I was in school, (Ray) Bradbury and (Isaac) Asimov were the big writers, but you don’t see them any more,” Lyons said. “Now, they’re all right here on the first floor.”
The construction work is mostly finished, said Library Director Rick Speer. Crews are still working on some details – painting touch-ups and adjustments to electrical systems and air conditioning – and most of the new furniture hadn’t yet arrived. He hadn’t hired a new coordinator for the cultural arts center, either. There’s still plenty to do.
The big grand opening is set for late October or early November, depending on how things come together. He plans a big event for the grand opening.
“Then, I’d like to have a week of special events, to kind of showcase the kinds of things they can expect from the cultural arts center,” he said.
The center will be named for Maine artist Marsden Hartley.
The main feature is the restored Callahan Hall on the third floor of the library. Speer expects everything from community potlucks to film series in the hall.
The expansion also features a new computer lab, although the new computers hadn’t been delivered.
A new historical document archive won’t open soon, either.
“That part, especially hiring a person to run the archives, that wasn’t in the budget,” Speer said.
But the books, the things Lyons and Bodkin appreciate the most, are ready and waiting.
The entire fiction collection is now on the first floor, along with newly arrived books and large-print editions. That’s freed up room on the second floor for the library’s historical books and volumes of biographies.
It’s made browsing a lot more fun.
“They just dug out some things I haven’t seen in a long time,” Lyons said.
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