There was a bit of a bump, but Rachel Kohl Library is getting ready to open the new children’s library next month. According to library Director Susan Sternberg, it took two tries to get a matching grant from the state for the renovation of the building on Smithbridge Road.
The library applied for a matching grant from the state two years ago after receiving a $203,000 gift from the Wiley Family, but it was rejected because of some flaws in the application, Sternberg said. So, they redid the application last year and it was finally approved.
The old children’s section was right off the main library room, but it was too small. The staff had to remove books.
“If an item hadn’t gone out within two years, we had to get rid of it because we had no room,” Sternberg said, “and we couldn’t hold programs in there anymore because we were getting 40 people to a program but could only fit 10.”
The new children’s space, on the south side of the building, was the old office space for Concord Township before the township moved its operations to Thornton Road. Concord had been sharing the Smithbridge Road building with the library before then.
After the library took over the entire building, that space was empty for a few years before the library rented out that space to a property management firm. At one point that space was divided into seven small offices and a conference room.
“In three-and-a-half weeks, our contractor tore the whole thing apart, fixed the carpeting where the walls were, redid all the HVAC ductwork, the lighting, the electric, and moved the computers,” Sternberg said.
She went on to say that one of the offices in that area would remain but be used as a tutoring space. She’s also hoping some Boy Scout will do an Eagle Scout project of building a stage in there for Storytime. The entire space is more than double that of the old children’s library.
As of now, Sternberg is looking toward a mid-November soft opening for the children’s library, followed by a grand opening sometime in December.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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