Main Library

Grand Re-opening

Main Library
301 W. Congress, Lafayette, LA 70501

December 2013 - half-way through the construction process

We are 7 months into the Main Library renovations.  That's nearly the half-way mark for construction.   Here's a few pictures from the December 3rd site visit.  The rest of the pictures can be found here

New Bike Racks

First Floor

October 2013 - 5 months in

We are 5 months into the planned 14 month construction schedule.  Exterior work continues on the parking lot repaving.  The drive-thru book drop / pickup window is being formed. 

The front entrance canopy is also being formed.

And we are excited that our 'books' are in place

Inside, the work on each floor continues and is on schedule.  See the complete set of early October 2013 pictures here.   We should be planning a grand re-opening around this time next year!

Early September

 
The new front entrance canopy is being formed.

 Framing continues in the Children's Department.  Here's a view of the entrance

The opening where the public stairs were on the 2nd floor has been filled in.

Walls are going up on the 3rd floor.  This is a view of the Genealogy/Local History/Research Room

Re-paving the parking lot continues.  Preparation for installation of air conditioning duct work and equipment continues. 

See the rest of the pictures here.

Multitasking

Electrical and plumbing rough-ins, metal studs forming office spaces and features, metal frames, brick work, concrete forming, HVAC ductwork and prep - all happening in early July.

Here's a recap of what will be on each floor:
1st: circulation, children's, teens, study rooms
2nd:  meeting rooms, adult fiction, public computers, study rooms, reading room
3rd:  adult non-fiction, genealogy & local history, public research computers, study rooms, technology lab

Here are a few pictures from a recent site tour.  The full album can be found here

Construction update - June 27 2013

If you ever attended a program or meeting at the Main Library, you remember the column in the middle of the room that limited the seating arrangement and visibility. 

We are moving our meeting room to the 2nd Floor.  This allows us to remove the column and create more usable space.  This week, the Contractor removed the column! 

The Children's Storytelling Pit is no more --

But prep is underway for the new STORYCASTLE!

See the rest of the construction pictures from June here!  Thanks to our architect MBSB Group for many of the pictures.

Construction update - May 28th

Our contractor, Ratcliff Consruction, has been working since May 1st on demo and prepping for the new infrastructure - HVAC, plumbing and bathrooms, electrical, stairway and ductwork. Construction should be complete within the next 13 months. 

 View the rest of today's pictures here

The former front entrance facing West Congress Street.

 

 

The hole in the ceiling is where the old stairway was.

Formerly the children's storytelling pit, temporarily a pond.  The cafe/vending area will overlook Mary's Garden and Live Oak Society member # 6140 LE LIVRE-CHENE DANS LE JARDIN DE MARIE

 

 

The new front entrance (in progress) will face Lafayette Street.

 

Main Library construction - May 2013

The general contractor began on May 1st. The renovations are scheduled to take 14 months, with another 3 months for furniture, equipment, collection, and staff move-in. Here are pictures from the first week of the renovations. If the slide-show doesn't work (requires Flash), access the photos directly from this link

Renovation Work out to Bid

The next phase of the Main Library Project is underway with the bidding of the renovation work. Bids will be opened on March 19, 2013 at 3 p.m. Notice to Contractors can be found here. Here's the most recent architect's rendering.

Main Library update

We're excited to report that Phase I (interior demolition) of the Main Library project has been completed. Phase II (the renovations) should be out to bid this Fall and is expected to take about 14 months to complete, plus about 3 months to move back in. Check out the photos here or if you have a Flash-enabled device, see the slide show below

Temporary Library being readied

Library staff members are selecting books and other materials to move to the temporary downtown library at 538 Jefferson Street. This is the old "Jefferson Street Market" and will be the temporary home to our most popular library books and other collection items that are currently housed at Main. The computers from the Main Library will also be moved to the temporary facility. The temporary library will open in early 2011.

The existing 63,000 sq ft Main Library will undergo a complete renovation beginning in 2011. The entire facility must be vacated for the renovations to begin. Proposals were recently opened for temporary warehouse space; a decision on location is expected in early January 2011. The temporary warehouse will house that part of the library collection that cannot fit in the other libraries. The warehouse collection will be accessible via the online catalog. Patrons can request items and library staff will pull from the warehouse and send to the library of the patron's choice.

Seeking Temporary Space

RFPs have been published seeking temporary spaces for a downtown library, a working warehouse, and administrative offices. These spaces will be occupied during the Main Library renovations. Details are available at http://www.lafayettela.gov/finance/dpt050rfp.asp

Only the temporary space for a downtown library is required to be in the downtown Lafayette area. Please see the specifications or contact LCG Purchasing for more details.

Main Library DD Presentation

Architect Allen Bacque with MBSB Group presented the current renovation plans for the Main Library to the Library Board and Building Committee at a public meeting on Monday, April 20th. The Library staff, Board, and Building Committee are currently reviewing the plans, suggested colors and carpets, and budget estimate and hope to take action on moving forward within the next few months.

The Main Library facility was opened in January 1973. It has held up well over the years. As part of the renovation, major infrastructure improvements - including a new HVAC system, sprinkling the facility, and bringing other systems up to today's building codes - will occur. In addition, the third floor will be renovated to include public collections - adult non-fiction, reference, genealogy - as well as a computer/technology classroom. The second floor will house the adult popular collections and fiction collection, as well as media (DVDs, CDs, audiobooks). The first floor will house the Children's Department and the Teen Department, as well as a space for people to have a snack while studying or visiting the library. The large meeting room will be relocated to the 2nd floor and smaller meeting and study spaces will be available on all three floors. The Friends of the Library will accept donations and sort for their booksales in dedicated space accessible on the first floor of the library. The Main Library is also the headquarters facility for Administrative and Technical staff as well as equipment that serves the 10 facility library system.

The renovation project will take approximately 24 months, including move out, demolition, renovation, and move in. The current main library will be closed during this process. The Library Administration is currently investigating options for a temporary, small facility to provide library service to the area during the construction, as well as options on keeping much of the book collection available to the public. Several have questioned the availability of collections such as genealogy during this time. We hope to relocate such collections to other Lafayette Public Library locations to keep them available to the public during the renovation. We will let you know once we have the details.

The architect's fly-by rendering of the exterior and interior spaces can be found on YouTube .

The architect's PowerPoint presentation to the Board / Building Committee can be found here