The Port Washington Public Library’s $1.5 million renovation of the children’s room was approved by the state, library officials said last Wednesday.
“We are very pleased to announce that the renovations to the children’s library project has been approved,” Library Director Nancy Curtin said at the board meeting.
Board officials said they were waiting on engineering results that were sent to the New York State Facilities Planning Bureau to move forward with the project, which was approved on May 26.
The project’s cost will be funded by private donations, grants and capital reserves, with no additional burden placed on the taxpayer, Curtin said.
Curtin said the next stage in the process is the bidding, and that architects are currently putting bidding packages together.
The room, which will update the children’s room to allow for updated technology, as well as expanded workshop and reading space, will be renamed the Jackie and Harold Spielman Children’s Library to honor their support for the project.
During construction, materials will be relocated to other areas of the library, officials said.
The children’s room will temporarily relocate to the media room, which is on the lower level, directly across from the children’s room. The bulk of the children’s collection will remain available. Children’s programming and events will continue, but officials said they would be somewhat limited due to the reduction in space.
Curtin said the library will move 80 percent of the materials housed in the children’s room into the media room and the other 20 percent will be packed up and transported to the Nassau library system for storage.
She added that the same thing will happen to the media collection, in an effort to maintain the space in the library.
Also at the meeting, the board approved a contract bid to relocate materials.
The board received proposals from three companies to relocate materials during construction. The companies that placed bids include National Wide Relocation, Overton & Associates and American Interfile.
Curtin said American Interfile was chosen as the lowest bidder for $10,888.
American Interfile is a national library services company that specializes in the transition and relocation phases associated with library renovation and construction, according to its website.
“There are no library mover specialists on state contracts,” Curtin said. “There are movers, but library movers actually move things in order and place them in order on the shelf and have a much better understanding of libraries.”
Officials said they expect the project to take approximately nine months.
