Hoover library blocks off two departments for month for carpet replacement

The Hoover Public Library has closed its children’s and nonfiction departments for a month to allow for installation of new carpet.

Those two areas, which are on the left side of the main hallway that goes through the library, were made inaccessible to patrons on Monday, Aug. 7. Library officials hope to reopen those areas on Friday, Sept. 8, said Carrie Steinmehl, the library’s technology coordinator, who is overseeing the project.

While those departments are not accessible physically, patrons still will be able to receive service from those departments at the teens desk and circulation desk, Steinmehl said. Each department also will offer a small browsing collection, she said.

The technology hub also will be closed for a day or two next week (sometime during Aug. 13-19) as book shelves are moved, Steinmehl said.

It was just two years ago (August and early September 2015) that much of the library was closed for a renovation and makeover, but that project included new carpet only for the technology hub and fiction and teen departments, which are on the right side of the main hallway, Steinmehl said.

The carpet replacement was divided into two phases due to budget and time constraints, she said.

This year’s carpet replacement is costing just under $144,000, Steinmehl said. Commercial Floor Systems and Brian’s Flooring and Design are doing the installation work, while Florida Library Designs is moving the shelves, she said.

The nonfiction carpet will match the carpet in the teens and fiction department, and the carpet in the children’s area will match the blue carpet in the starred hallway that leads to the youth programming room, Steinmehl said.

“We appreciate your patience during this time and look forward to a fresh new look in September,” she said.

For more information, call the library at 444-7800.