Beginning Tuesday, May 28 and running through the end of June the Rochester Hills Public Library will be getting new carpeting. “The Library is 20 years old and most of the original carpeting is still here,” said Library Director Christine Lind Hage. “With 2,000 people a day visiting the Library the time has come to replace the carpet.” The Library will remain open throughout the entire project, but access to certain collections may not be available at certain times.
Work will start in the Youth Services Department and should be finished by the June 30th. “We wanted to focus on Youth Services first because our Summer Reading Club starts on June 1and things get real busy with children registering for the program,” said Jaclyn Miller, Manager of Youth Services. The new carpet in Youth Services will feature some primary colors and in the Explore Zone (area for the youngest children), there will be numbers and letters in the carpeting. While the area is being re-carpeted, it will also be rearranged putting the Explore Zone at the west end of the room, where it was originally located.
The action will shift to the large lobby area during the first week in June. The Friends’ Library Store will be closed on Tuesday, June 5 while the carpet is installed in that area. “We will continue to check books in and out throughout that week, although the checkout stations may be in different locations. “We will be lifting the entire circulation desk and will have to relocate computers while the workers are in that area,” said Hage. “Things will be a bit discombobulated for a while, but our staff is ready and willing to make this work.”
Work will begin on the second floor around June 6, but will stretch throughout the month. The Outreach & Bookmobile Services Department will be re-carpeted on June 12 and 13.
Carpeting a library is no easy task as all of the shelving must be lifted so carpet can be put underneath the shelving. This is also true of the Library’s large service desks. “One company actually installs the carpet and then a separate company lifts and moves the shelves,” Hage said. Each double-sided, 90” tall, 3’ fully- loaded section of shelving weights about 2,000 pounds! So an entire range of shelving could weigh as much as 10,000 pounds. Library flooring needs to hold 150 pounds per square foot, making it one of the strongest flooring in the construction industry. “I’m anxious to see them move a 12 – 15 foot range of shelving,” Hage said.
The entire re-flooring project should be complete by the end of June. The next major project will be to reupholster the furniture in the public areas of the building.
The Rochester Hills Public Library is located in downtown Rochester off of University Drive and three blocks east of Main Street. The Library is open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The Library’s website (www.rhpl.org) has information on how to register for a card and access all the Library’s services.
About Tom and Ann Gendich