Relocation During Renovation

The Main Library will be closed beginning Monday, September 28th while a complete renovation of the building takes place. On the 28th, moving crews and staff will begin the move of the collections, equipment and furniture to the Columbian School Building located at 1234 North Coutland Avenue (corner of Courtland Avenue and North Street.)

The Main Library hopes to re-open to the public at Columbian School in mid to late October.

During the time the Main Library is closed, a bookmobile will be parked in the Main Library's parking lot so that patrons can pick up their holds and interlibrary loans. A small collection of books and audio-visual items will also be available for check-out. The book drops at the Main Library wil also be accessible during the move.

KHCPL South, KHCPL Russiaville, and the Genealogy Department at 4053 S. Webster St., will remain open during the move and the bookmobiles will maintain their regular schedules. Patrons are encouraged to use these facilities during the move.

Renovation Update

At the regular library board meeting on August 18, 2009, the library board voted to accept the bid of Construction Planning and Management, Inc. (CPM) of Indianapolis, Indiana, to renovate the main library building. Over 50% of the money paid to subcontractors will go to local firms, thus keeping most of the library’s remodeling money in the community.

The library board is continuing to study how best to house the Outreach (bookmobile) Department and the Collection Management Department. No decision has been made regarding a building for these departments at this time.

During the renovation of the downtown building, the main library will be housed in the Columbian School building located at 1234 N. Courtland Avenue. The library is grateful to the Kokomo Center School Board for their partnership with the library in providing this facility. Many thousands of tax payer dollars have been saved by this partnership.

Main Building Renovation

Shown below is the architect's rendering of the first floor of the remodeled Main Library scheduled to be completed by July 15, 2010.

Shown below is the architect's rendering of the second floor of the remodeled Main Library scheduled to be complete by July 15, 2010.

Samples of Interior Finishes

The library board has reviewed interior finishes for the remodeled Main library that Heather Kammer, Interior Designer with krM Architecture + has suggested. Samples of the interior finishes are below.

May 11, 2009 Board Meeting

The design and layout of the remodeled Main Library continues to move forward. At the library board meeting held on May 11, the board reviewed the latest floor plans of the remodeled building. (see below)

The floor plan of the pre-engineered building housing the Outreach and Collection Management Departments located at the South Branch were also reviewed. (see below)

April 27th, 2009 Board Meeting

At their board meeting on April 27, 2009, the library board reviewed the latest floor plans for the remodeled main library which were presented by the architect, Mike Montgomery. Those images are shown below.

The library board also voted to construct a pre-engineered building at KHCPL South on land that is owned by the library. (See KHCPL site plan below.) The pre-engineered building will house two non-public departments: the Outreach Department and the Collection Management Department.

March 9th, 2009 Board Meeting

At the regular board meeting of the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library Board of Trustees held on March 9, 2009, the board voted to:

1. Remodel the entire 45,000 square feet of the downtown facility. This includes connection of all three floors through a newly configured main lobby stair. The existing areas would be reconfigured to open the spaces up, move Children’s to the main floor, move Adult Services to the upper floor and move Collection Development and Outreach Departments to a separate building.

2. Upgrade the mechanical and electrical systems of the existing building. The boilers and the main duct work throughout the building would remain. Other components such as piping, the chiller, temperature controls, lighting and other components would be replaced.


The remodeling project will be paid for using money already saved in the Library Improvement Reserve Fund and other donations as they become available.

Pictures:

1. Proposed Main Floor Building Plan

2. Proposed Upper Floor Building Plan

3. Proposed Lower Floor Building Plan