Timeline Heading Into Construction

With great joy and excitement, we have a timeline for the Children's Room Renovation! Hooray!

On September 22, the City Commission approved a contract with Martel Construction to perform the renovation work. We will likely break carpet on the Children's Room renovation on Monday, November 9. In the meantime, here's what you need to know:

• The Big Checkout - October 1-28 Everyone is invited to borrow items from the BPL Children's Room for five months. This Big Checkout will help the renovation budget go further – every dollar not spent on storage translates to more exciting things like toddler-sized toilets and generous comic book shelves. Holds on Children's Room items are temporarily suspended. Everyone is invited to bring their wagons, laundry baskets, and rolling suitcases to browse in-person. Items will be available on a first come, first served basis. Folks who participate in The Big Checkout will receive a "Big Checkout Champion" pin commemorating their role in this project. Items from other Gallatin County libraries are not included in The Big Checkout. Come March, all those items will need to come back to the Library, but by keeping them on your coffee tables over the winter you're helping those precious renovation dollars stretch further. Plus, we know how many books ravenous kids need!
• October 6 - Library closed for staff training
• October 12 - Library closed for Indigenous Peoples' Day
• Youth Services Programming Break - October 18-November 6 All programs for youth ages 0-18 will be paused to allow our staff time to pack, move, and build a miniature Children's Room in the Community Room. Blocks, trucks, the wind tunnel, and the dramatic play corner will remain available through October 23.
• See Ya Later Party - Friday, October 23, 3-5 PM Many families have beautiful memories of the Children's Room in its current form, and we want to offer folks an opportunity to wish this space well before the big transformation. Former Children's Librarian Cindy Christin will be in attendance. There will be cake and a collaborative art project to collect wishes for families and children in the new space. Come celebrate 20 beautiful years of kids discovering Calvin & Hobbes, Goodnight Moon, and Percy Jackson.
• Children's Collection Break - October 29-November 3 All books, films, and audiobooks normally housed in the Children's Room will be unavailable for six days as we build the Mini Children's Room in the Community Room and move other items into longer-term storage.
• November 3 - Library closed for Election Day
• Mini Children's Room - opening November 4 A hand-picked browsing collection of kids books, films, and audiobooks will be available for checkout in the Community Room. Unfortunately, we don't anticipate having space for our normal toys and dramatic play.
• Youth Services Programs Resume - November 7 A limited number of programs for kids and teens will resume, locations and details to be announced.
• November 11 - Library closed for Veteran's Day
• November 26-27 - Library closed for Thanksgiving

Thank you for being part of this time of transition and transformation for our public library. See you soon!