Champaign County Library renovations complete

The $250,000 renovation on the Champaign County Library in Urbana was completed last week.

The project, which started only two weeks ago, included replacing the carpeting, updating the shelving, redoing the tile in the walkway and installing a new computer lab.

“Overwhelmingly the reaction’s been very positive,” said Ty Henderson, director of the library. “People have been really supportive.”

Though the library did not completely close during the renovation, its services were altered based on what was available at any given time when people came in. But Henderson said the patrons handled it well.

“We’re appreciative of how flexible they have been as we’ve been trying to maintain services throughout,” he said.

This is the first time the library has undergone any renovations since relocating to its current site on 1060 Scioto St. in 1996, Henderson said. They had planned on renovating for several years, he said, but had to take care of larger issues like fixing the roof and replacing the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.

Funding for the renovations came from saving up money in the library’s budget over the last several years and the passage of a levy in 2010, according to the library’s website.

The interior renovations are complete, but Henderson said the exterior of the building still needs to be painted.

“But otherwise, it’s pretty well finished for now,” he said.

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