Libraries are a place where you can ask questions and get answers. We get questions that range from “What’s the phone number for Reader’s Digest?” to “Why do we still have Daylight Savings Time?”. At UDPL the library staff prides itself on find the right answers. If we don’t know the answer, we will hunt it down! The most frequently asked question we get, though, is “So when is the library moving?”

Over the last few months the answer has gotten more and more specific. We started out saying “We’re moving in 2020!” followed by “We’re moving in Spring 2020!” and then “We’re moving sometime in May!” Today that answer has gotten even more specific.

So when is the library moving?

The library will begin moving in late April, but the bulk of the move is not planned to begin until early May. We’re anticipating that it’s going to take about three weeks to get everything from 805 Loch Alsh Ave to 520 Virginia Drive, so we will be closed beginning Monday, May 4, 2020 and it is our plan to reopen in the new location on Wednesday, May 27, 2020.

Moving the staff, equipment, and over 115,000 books and other items is no small undertaking, but we’re committed to closing the library for as short a period of time as possible. During the time that we are closed we will be doing more than just putting books on shelves! We’ll be setting up and readying the library for the community. This includes stocking pretend food in the Children’s Library play kitchen and making sure that the Express Library on the first floor is ready to serve people picking up holds quickly and efficiently!  Below is a rendering of what the Express Library and the entrance to the Children’s Library will look like from the lobby right inside the library’s front door:

In the coming weeks we will post more about what staff is planning and doing to make sure  UDPL’s patrons will still have access to the information and items they need even if we are closed. For example, all of our digital resources (Hoopla, OverDrive, RB Digital, Mango, Tumblebooks, etc.) will remain available 24/7 even when the library is closed!