ERVING — Construction of the new Erving Public Library building is nearly complete, with a soft opening expected in February and a grand opening in March.
The building is between the Senior and Community Center and Erving Elementary School on Northfield Road (Route 63), and is accessible via Care Drive. Construction started in early May, and is expected to be largely complete by January, said Library Director Barbara Friedman.
The project is worth about $5.8 million, about $2.7 million of which came from a state grant. Town funding was approved at a Special Town Meeting in June.
By now, the shape and size of the building are clear. At about 8,300 square feet, the new building’s footprint is about four times larger than the library’s present building farther down Route 63 at the corner of Park Street, according to Library Director Barbara Friedman.
The extra space will allow for twice as much shelf space, and far more room for other activities. The collection now, which Friedman said is about 12,000 items, takes up most of the space in the present building.
The new building is organized in a wide U-shape. At the bottom of the U is an entrance hall, a space with a high ceiling and a wall of windows facing a courtyard in the back. The two wings on either side, wrapping around the courtyard, will be the adult and children’s book sections. Both wings are visible from the circulation desk in the entrance hall.
Smaller rooms branch off the two main wings, which will include a “makerspace,” research rooms with computers and storage of the library’s collection of historic newspapers, Friedman said.
The teen room, a branch off the adult wing, is envisioned as a community space of Erving’s middle school-age youth. Because they leave Erving Elementary School after sixth grade, there is no other community space for them in town, Friedman said.
The library will also have a community meeting room, which will be used for library programs, and likely as an extension of Town Hall’s meeting space, Friedman said. The room can hold up to 60 people, she said, making it large enough for committee meetings or for relatively small Town Meetings.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 261.