By LESTER CHANG
The Sunnyvale Public Library will be closed from July 4 to Sept. 7, 1998, for a $2.2 million reconstruction project to improve services to the public.
The improvements--which include building more bookshelves and additional seating for library users--will accommodate an anticipated increase in library users in the 21st century, city officials said.
The City Council approved the nine-week closing of the facility at its April 22 meeting.
Council members agreed with a recommendation from the city's Library Department that it was best to close the facility during the summer, when the use is light.
The City Council rejected a second option that would leave the facility partially open while work went on in some areas of the library from May to November in 1998. That situation could prove frustrating and confusing to some users, department officials said.
Other improvements will include replacing carpets and removing asbestos, which was used in glue to install the carpet more than 10 years ago, Assistant City Engineer Hira Raina said.
Bids for the work will go out some time next year, he said.
The library currently houses 324,444 books, magazines, audio tapes and other materials. With more shelves, the library will be able to hold an additional 20,000 pieces of library material, said Karen Willes, an administrative librarian with the city.
The library will also increase its seating from 335 to 495. To give the feeling of more space, glass sheets that now set off one part of the library from another will be removed, Willes said.
During the library's closure, the city will have two bookmobiles operating to bring books to neighborhoods and schools throughout the city, Willes said.
In addition to manning the bookmobiles, many of the library's 100 employees will continue working, buying books, processing them for inclusion in the library and directing residents to other libraries that are open, Willes said. Others will get training at other branches, she added.
The City Council looked at expanding the library, but decided against it because of cost, said David Vossbrink, the city's community relations officer.
The City Council approved the project on the strength of a consultant study that projected increased use of the library in the 21st century.
City documents show that the city's current population of about 125,000 could increase to 127,680 by 2010.
The number of visits to the library jumped from 550,000 in fiscal year 1986-87 to 817,033 in fiscal year 1991-92, an increase of 48.5 percent, the documents showed.
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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 30, 1997.
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