Building the Next Chapter

Construction begins August 8th!!

July 20 Update:  The Library will close on August 8 for the remodeling project.  During the week of August 8th, holds may be picked up curbside at the Library.  Starting August 15th, holds will be available for pickup at Bayport City Hall, 274 3rd St N, just a couple blocks away from the Library.  The service offered at City Hall will only be holds pick up, we will not have public computers, copying, scanning or faxing available.  Chromebooks and hotspots can be requested and checked out for use at home.  Weekly storytimes will continue, first at Barker’s Alps Park, and then at the Nature Center when the weather gets colder.  The project should be finished in early 2023, watch this space for more updates!

Everyone is invited to our groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, August 8 at 4:30 pm.  Join us on the Library’s front porch to celebrate as we start this project!

Key goals include updating restrooms to current accessibility standards, adding more private study and small conference space, and making the space more flexible for library programs.  We also want to keep the traditional library feeling in our space, and keep it warm and welcoming.

The Library Board issued a request for proposals in 2019 for a Facilities Master Plan, and chose to work with Bentz Thompson Rietow to evaluate the current condition of library space, and to create a plan to take the Library to 2045. Work proceeded on the plan throughout 2020, with a combination of online focus groups and staff and stakeholder interviews.

In addition to a remodel of the existing restrooms, repairs to the facade, and updates to the lighting systems in the Library, changes are planned for all levels of the Library.

On the Library’s main floor, key additions include a quiet room, three new study spaces, a larger children’s area, and a reconfigured service desk.  We will keep areas we know you love to use, like the Mary Stout Reading Room!  We plan to update the furniture, carpet, paint and lighting.  Both entrances will be made more open and welcoming to all who enter the Library.

This is what the expanded children’s area may look like – with more color on the walls and in the space!

In addition, some of the lesser used materials in the collection will be moved to the basement, in stacks that will be accessible to the public.  We will continue to have secure storage for the city and our community partners in the remainder of the basement space.

Most of the changes will happen on the main floor, as we have done some recent updates in our meeting spaces.  We will improve the space with the addition of a tech/wet lab space, and we will add more flexibility and technology to the spaces to make them more useful for our community.  This is what the updated large meeting room may look like!

Here are the floorplans for the main library and second level.

The Library Board wants to honor the amazing gift that this library was to our community by making needed improvements and reconfiguring the space to work for another 25 years.  The forward thinking of planners in the 1980s means that we have adequate space for our community.

We have reached our initial fundraising goal! We have raised a total of  $2,450,436 to complete our planned improvements. Thank you to all of our donors!  We are so grateful for everyone who has already contributed to Building the Next Chapter!

Do you have questions or feedback about our project?  Interested in contributing to our campaign?  Please get in touch with Library Director Jill Smith at jsmith@ci.bayport.mn.us or 651-275-4416 or Sara Wagner, Chair of the Fundraising Committee at saraewagner@comcast.net or 651-303-0540.

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