APRIL 2025 - Library Construction Update: Progress and Planning

City staff and our architects are working diligently to finalize construction documents for our library project. Once complete, we will present the full package to City Council. If everything stays on track, we anticipate going before City Council in late April or early May. At that meeting, we will present the project, hold a public hearing on the bond funds, and request authorization to begin the bidding process for construction contractors.

This project has been a long time coming, and while the planning phase can feel slow, it is critical to ensuring a smoother construction process with fewer unexpected surprises or costly change orders.

Meanwhile, our library staff is preparing for the transition to a temporary location. Since we cannot take our entire collection with us, we must determine how many books and media items will fit in the new space (final location still to be determined) and how best to store the rest during construction.

Did you know math plays a big role in library logistics? For example, an average library shelf holds about 25 books or 50 DVDs. To prepare for storage, we calculated the weight of different book types in batches of 25. The results were eye-opening! While we weighed a variety of book categories, including children's books, adult fiction, and graphic novels, the heaviest by far were the Yellow Pages and yearbooks. Twenty-five Yellow Pages weighed about 55 pounds, while 25 yearbooks tipped the scale at a whopping 74 pounds. For reference, the large-print books shown in the image weigh 36.5 pounds per 25 copies.

So, next time you check out a stack of library books, remember—books are made of paper, paper comes from wood, and wood is heavy! Be sure to lift with your legs!