But before anyone breaks open a champagne bottle, workers have to lay out the walkway and finish the parking lot, among the various other tasks left to be completed. The city council threw full support behind the raising of curbs in the parking lot, with unanimous approval last month to spend $4,800 on this part of the project.

The council, however, butted heads over the proposal of an aggregate walkway as opposed to smooth concrete, an option that called for an additional $6,000. According to Assistant City Manager Lorie Tinfow, the Library Expansion Committee suggested using aggregate material to discourage skateboarding on the path. Only after a 3-2 vote, with Vice Mayor Evan Baker and Councilman John Mehaffey opposing, did the council approve the aggregate walkway.

As work has progressed on the building, the project's key players have led at least two on-site tours in the past month. When architect Mark Schatz gave a tour three weeks ago, he stood before a large open space that is to be the main circulation area. One of the main complaints about the old library was that it was too dark, Schatz said. Patrons can expect to find the new library well-lit with fluorescent lights, a light acoustic ceiling and most of the high portions of the wall painted off-white. The new library also incorporates recycled redwood paneling from the old building.

Inside the 11,000-square-foot children's room (the new library spans almost 49,000 square feet in all, as opposed to the old building, which measured 18,000 square feet), patrons will have access to window seats, a roll-down movie screen and a puppet stage. Off to the side is the children's program room. Donors who contribute $150 to the library will see their children's names engraved on ceramic book spines near the entrance to this room.

Across from the children's room is the young adults' section, which will be furnished with "funky" furniture that Schatz anticipates the kids will appreciate. The windows in that section run the entire length of the wall, thus capturing the full expanse of the redwood trees outside. Next to the young adults' section is a group study room and a computer training center, which will house 20 individual workstations. Each area of the library will also have computer workstations.

As in the children's room, patrons will find window seats in the adult section—a feature absent in that section of the old library.

"So much of this is to integrate the library into the orchard and the orchard into the library," explained library spokesman Jim Givens. Having patrons snuggle up against the window seat with the trees directly outside should help create the illusion that a reader is right there in the orchard, Schatz said during the tour.

Toward the back of the library, book lovers will run into the cafe and patio, where individuals who donate $250 or $1,000 will find their names etched on patio bricks and tiles, respectively. Those who contribute $500 will have their names on wooden spines in the adult section. Individuals who give upwards of $5,000 will see their names engraved on a bronze plaque that will hang in the foyer.

Friends of the Saratoga Libraries continue to gather monetary support as they close in on the targeted $1.1 million needed to fund the library's furniture and book collection, a target that they have until June 30, 2003, to meet. The Friends have also done away with the November deadline for donating. For the time being, individuals who donate may still have their names recognized in the library, Givens said.

About $27,000 shy of the anticipated goal, the Friends received word last month from the city council that it, too, would contribute $25,000 to the campaign.

In addition to the $25,000 appropriated for the "Furnishing the Future" campaign, the city also decided to allocate $10,000 from its contingency funds for the grand opening celebration.

Plans are tentatively in place for a kickoff celebration on a weekend after the library has been open and operating for awhile.