As the weather has heated up, so has the progress on the Dwight T. Parker Public Library expansion project.

Those who drive by the construction site can see changes and updates happening almost on a daily basis.

The new 7,000 square foot addition, taking shape next to the original building, will be adult materials, genealogy, and community spaces, Library Director Cathy Smith explained on a tour of the new facility.

The upstairs portion of the new building, which connects to the original building on either side of the original fireplace, will have an additional fireplace on the opposite side, and the circulation desk will now be located there.

The original upstairs portion which housed almost everything will now be devoted as the adult book section.

A “roomy” public computer area/laptop bar will be next to the circulation desk with a reading nook off to the side.

Local history and genealogy will also be on the upper level along with staff offices and workspace behind the desk.

The new elevator will give ADA access to the library via the new addition.

The lower level of the addition will actually be the new main entrance to the library with the level holding a community room with kitchenette for gatherings. The room will be able to divide into two sections once a movable partition is installed.

To the left will be the young adult/teen space with a study room for group studying or tutoring. Periodicals/media was also be in same area.

From there will be the entrance back into the lower level of the original library where the revamped children’s area will be. Still in its same location, the children’s area will now have reading nooks including one that will have a train mural painted on it in tribute to the “Dinky” by a local artist, according to Smith.

And throughout the new addition will be “lots and lots of cozy chairs,” Smith explained.

The month of June and into July will see much of the finishing touches construction wise completed, according to McKee Associates Site Supervisor Michael Baumbach.

The outside brickwork and roofing has already begun and both are moving along.

Permanent power back to the library was scheduled to start this week, and gas will be installed around June 15.

Baumbach also stated that wall and bathroom tiles will also be installed this week, with counter tops to follow the next week.

The remaining windows should be installed roughly around June 22.

Land/property grading, which is creating a stable foundation by moving, removing, or adding soil, should take place mid to later June, according to Baumbach, which once that is completed, the fencing will come down and the construction crew will begin leaving the site, making way for landscaping to take place beginning mid-July.

Smith stated the last piece will be shelving delivery and assembly which is slated to take place in September, with new furniture to be delivered once the shelving is completed.

The biggest part of September will of course be moving back in. The library’s temporary location will be open for the summer, with modified hours and days beginning in September, coinciding with moving.

“We’ll know more specifics as it gets closer,” Smith explained.

She and the library staff will be recruiting for volunteers to once again help with moving the items from the temporary location on 11th Street and the items in storage at Krantz Hardware.

The expanded and remodeled Dwight T. Parker Public Library will be back open to the public and in use no later than Oct. 1, with an open house/grand opening to come at a later date.

Additionally, Smith clarified that yes indeed, the library is still accepting donations for the building fund, and any size donations are welcome and appreciated.

“With any building project, issues arise that come with dollar signs that were not expected,” Smith stated in her library column in the May 21 edition of the Fennimore Times.

All donations will be listed in a master ledger available at the circulation desk.

Names of those making donations by June 30, and greater than $500 will be listed on a group plaque. Names of those making donations by the same deadline and greater than $2,000 will have their names listed on an individual plaque.

Donations can still be made after June 30, but the plaques are in the process of being created and names will be needed by the June 30 date, according to Smith.

Anyone with donation questions can contact Smith and discuss the various ways donations can be made.