North Country This Week

POTSDAM – Renovation work at the Potsdam Public Library continues and the $1.2 million project is not expected to reach a point where the library will reopen to the public until sometime later this spring.

A specific reopening date has yet to be nailed down, however.

Potsdam Library Director Annie Davey told North Country This Week that Phases 1 and 2 of the project are slated to be finished sometime this spring. Phase 3 of the extensive interior renovation at the library will take place sometime thereafter.

“Pandemic aside, architect Rebecca Naomi Weld, founder of Renew Architecture & Design, said she was looking at May as a phase one and two completion date. The work of staff and volunteers will add a couple of weeks after Phase II is completed, to get everything back in order,” Davey said. “Phase III of the renovations will not interfere with the reopening and daily operations of the library.”

Davey said the project was originally slated to begin last April, but the state-mandated shutdown, ordered because of pandemic fears, put a halt to construction projects like the library work. The delay set the renovation back for a time, but project deadlines for the grants paying for the project were extended as well.

Phase 1 of the project, completed by Continental Construction of Gouverneur, included erecting a mezzanine cost $359,351 and garnered a $269,513 grant with a library match of $89,838.

Phase 2, which is underway and includes work on the floor, ceiling, lobby, circulation desk and HVAC system, will cost $450,020, paid for by a $297,017 grant with a $153,003 library match.

Phase 3, related to staff areas like the office and kitchen and to be completed after the library reopens to the public, will cost $467,305 and to be paid by a $350,479 grant with a library match of $116,826.

While the library, like many public organizations around the state, has had their normal operations hampered by the shutdown, Davey did highlight some benefits.

“It was a convenient time to be closed for construction,” the director said. Davey said that due to the extensiveness of the work the library would have had to shut down in any case.

Staff members at the library have continued to work during the project, with staggered shifts set up in some cases to meet occupancy thresholds ordered by the state, and some work being done remotely from home. The director said the shutdown has led to staff members learning new skills to facilitate patrons accessing online content. Other work has included moving around the many boxes holding the library’s 70,000 volumes as construction continues.

 “This is a once in a lifetime construction project, and we are doing it right,” Davey said.

“It’s a huge undertaking. And even though the library has been closed, the staff has been very, very busy doing hard work,” she said. “It’s quite an intricate operation.”

The director said once the first two phases are complete staff will be a couple weeks restacking the collection. During that time they will take the opportunity to do a full review and inventory of the collection as well.

Davey said while the traditional services of the library have not been open during the pandemic and construction project, public use of the facility’s online services have grown a good deal, with audiobook and ebook downloads on the rise. Davey said the pandemic has caused patrons to increase their technology skills to access the collection digitally.

“More than ever people are getting into electronic content,” Davey said.

Davey said library continues to offer its research database and some online programming to the public during the pandemic, notably in the form of a new program called PPL on the Outside, a partnership with the Potsdam recreation department (https://potsdamlibrary.org/category/ppl-on-the-outside/) which focuses on outdoor activities in the region.

The program is spearheaded by William Eckert, who was hired in 2020 as the adult program coordinator. “We hired William during the pandemic. We thought we would wait. . . but he has been wonderful,” Davey said.

Much of the library’s online content during the pandemic can be accessed through their Facebook page which includes Youtube links to story time videos with staffers, interviews with authors and construction project update content and video.

Potsdam Public Library’s public computer terminals have traditionally been a draw for those in the community without their own computer or internet access and those services have not been available during the shutdown. Davey said the library did consider opening the Cleveland Center room in the basement with computers set up for those patrons, but due to the room’s small size, they could not meet the state’s occupancy guidelines. She said however, that the library continues to offer free WiFi service which can be accessed just outside the building.

Potsdam Public Library is largely funded by $574,094 in public taxes collected through the Potsdam Central School district to fund its annual budget of $624,294, of which about $500,000 is personnel costs. The library also raises money through grants, its book sale and a donation link to its Paypal account, both of which have continued to raise some funds for the organization during the pandemic. View the budget by following the link found at https://tinyurl.com/y4gf4qkf.

Don’t Miss a Story!

Keep up with local government & schools, police & fire news, help wanted ads, upcoming events, obituaries, letters from viewers, news of your friends & neighbors, & much more!
Subscribe today for just $1.44 per week
 Thank you.