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Library to close as renovations continue

By Greg Williams 6 min read

LEWISTOWN -- The Mifflin County Public Library will be shutting down in a little over a month as some much-needed renovations continue.

Renovations for the $1.5 million project started on Feb. 25, but work on the upper level means the library will close on Monday, July 8, and likely remain shuttered until Thanksgiving. In the meantime, the Kish Branch of the Mifflin County Library in Belleville will offer extended hours.

"I'm hoping it won't be that long," said Susan Miriello, executive director for the Mifflin County Library located at 123 N. Wayne St., Lewistown.

"It's so exciting," Miriello added. "Hopefully, renovations will stay on track and on time. These aren't cosmetic changes. These are major improvements to the building to make the building more accessible and welcoming to everybody. This will be so wonderful when it's done."

The work has been funded through a Keystone Grant through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries. Miriello said the purpose of the grant is to update older library buildings.

"123 North Wayne Street will be 50 years old in 2025," Miriello said. "What we've already done is a new entrance to the children's library, a new entrance for the community room, two new family bathrooms on the lower level, new -- desperately needed -- electricity, new -- desperately needed -- HVAC system and installed a sprinkler system on the lower level.

"There are just so many wonderful changes I can't keep track of them all," she added.

Dramatic changes for children's library

The children's library will certainly have some dramatic changes.

"The children's room will be welcoming and will not be buried in the basement," Miriello said. "While it still will be on the lower level, the children's library will be seen immediately on exiting the stairwell or the elevator."

The children's room will have a small story time classroom and a small quiet area for fidgety children or for nursing moms, she added. "That's major for us. Plus, windows and a higher ceiling in the children's library."

The technical services coordinator and the children's librarian will both have offices.

Upper-level renovations

On the upper level, the restrooms and elevator will be replaced as well as the installation of new HVAC, electrical and sprinkler systems.

"The bathrooms now are just horrible," Miriello explained. "They're cold, they smell, the laminate floor is peeling; it's a mess."

While the library is closed, there will not be any electricity, which includes Wi-fi services. "One thing people need to be aware of is that the staff aren't allowed in the library at all," she said. "We will take the new books with us to the Kish Branch, but all of the older books will be under tarps and we can't get to them."

Miriello likened the closure to the recent pandemic. "If a patron wants a new book, we will get it for them in a locker or at the Kish Branch," she said. "This is a temporary inconvenience for a permanent improvement."

The library's new main entrance tops the list of improvements. "The entrance that we have now lets in a lot of cold air in the winter, the ceiling tiles are stained and the automated doors do not work consistently so the entrance will be removed and a new entrance installed," Miriello said.

"The contractors will also renovate the current staff offices and build new ones," she added. "Right now, my administrative assistant and I share an electrical outlet and her office is actually the old staff bathroom - which was converted into an office at some point."

The assistant director's office has no heat or air conditioning at all and also has one electrical outlet. Overall, the outlets throughout the upper level has too high and inaccessible to most people; there aren't enough if patrons want to plug in cell phones or laptops.

Returning books

Patrons may still return books to the silver book drop on the sidewalk at Mifflin County Library or to the Kish Branch; however, the book drop in the library wall won't be available due to the construction.

"I'm also working on a way to still bring books to patrons," Miriello said. "We'll put lockers outside and patrons may place books on hold or call our cellphone. We'll notify the patron on the locker number and lock combination. We also want patrons to stock up on books just like with COVID only now it's construction."

Other services like fingerprinting through IdentoGo will continue to be offered at the Mifflin County Courthouse. Children's activities will be offered at the Kish Branch and at the Penn State Extension office in Lewistown and other locations.

When it re-opens ...

When the library reopens, Miriello hopes patrons will be amazed and awed by the results.

"The commissioners, the library board and I have a lot of future plans," Miriello added. "When we reopen, our patrons can expect a climate-controlled, easily accessible, welcoming environment."

This phase is just the first one and only includes the lower level and the upper-level core. Miriello said there isn't any work being done on the wings of the library - the fiction section or the non-fiction section where the children's books are currently located.

There are also new features, such as an enclosed magazine area, or as the staff call it, the "Living Room." The magazines and the public access computers are here.

"This will be a quiet study area because let's face it, we at the Mifflin County Library are noisy," Miriello said. "The children talk loudly, the staff talk loudly, it will be wonderful to have a glass-enclosed space that is quiet."

Patrons will also be greeted by a new circulation/checkout desk, which will be lower so it is friendly for both children and adults, easily accessible for those in wheelchairs or using walkers and much more welcoming.

Once the construction work is completed, Miriello warned the staff will need some time to get the library back in order.

"We'll also want time to organize the books back on the shelves -

that is, move the children's books back to the children's library," she added.

Extended hours for Kish Branch

Starting July 8, the Kish Branch will be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

For more information, visit www.mifflincountylibrary.org.

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