West DSM News

City of West Des Moines issued the following announcement on Oct. 20. 

As part of ongoing renovations, the West Des Moines Public Library will be closed from Tuesday, October 27, through Wednesday, November 11, reopening on November 12. During the closure, library staff and contractors will:

• Move the children’s collection and other library materials currently housed on the first floor to temporary shelving on the second floor;
• Lay new carpet on the first floor;
• Erect temporary walls to contain dust and noise on the first floor;
• Re-carpet public elevators; and
• Move some library furniture out of the building into storage.

Once the Library reopens:

• There will be limited seating and study space, as nearly all Library operations will take place upstairs while renovations continue downstairs.
• Both Youth Services and Adult Services will be temporarily housed upstairs until the first floor is finished.
• Because of low storage space, the Book Club Kits collection will be unavailable until January 2.

“I’m sure the public is tired of our having to close for these renovation changeovers,” says Library Director Darryl Eschete. “The timing has been unfortunate with COVID, but there would be no way to get this work done safely with the public coming and going.”

Curbside pickup service will be available during the library’s closure. Curbside hours will be 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., on Fridays and Saturdays. Patrons will place materials on hold using the library’s online catalog, available through the website www.wdmlibrary.org and staff will contact them when their materials are ready for pickup in front of the building at 4000 Mills Civic Parkway.

The current West Des Moines Public Library building opened in 1996 as a space shared by the Library and West Des Moines City Government. This arrangement continued until 2002, when the current City Hall at 4200 Mills Civic was completed. The present renovation is the first major overhaul of the building since that time, and the plans include the addition of a large teen area on the first floor, more meeting rooms on the second floor, new work spaces and cubicles for staff as well as new carpet and fresh paint throughout the building.

Funding for the estimated $3 million project comes from both public and private sources, including local option sales tax money and a donation of just over $350,000 from the West Des Moines Public Library Friends Foundation.

Contractors and city engineers expect to complete the project in spring of 2021.

Original source can be found here.