JERSEYVILLE - A glimpse of the future now stands at the Jerseyville Public Library, where a major expansion project is well underway following a groundbreaking ceremony earlier this summer.
“It’s very exciting,” Library Director Judy Pruitt said of the structure being built. “The community has been waiting for this for a long time.”
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Pruitt added the extension will allow the library to move certain sections and services towards the new front of the building for increased accessibility.
The Adult Fiction collection will move from the second floor into the new space, and the Teen collection and Study Rooms currently in the back of the building will also move into the new area. The library’s “large print” collection and assortment of DVDs will also be housed in the expanded section, which will also feature new bathrooms and the library’s front Service Desk.
SMWilson is handling construction services on the project, including Site Superintendent Caleb Goode, who Pruitt said understands firsthand the importance of this project for the city of Jerseyville.
“They are amazing,” Pruitt said of SMWilson. “Caleb Goode is our Site Superintendent and he’s a Jerseyville kid, and so he knows and understands what this means to the community. They’ve made it such a smooth process.”
She commended the workers’ professionalism during temporary road closures and their close coordination with city officials as the project continues.
Pruitt said the expansion is expected to be complete by the end of May 2025.
“We’re excited to continue to offer library services to the community, and to curate collections that are of interest to them and relevant to them, and support their search for information,” Pruitt said. “This new structure is going to help us do that far into the future.”
The structure forms the first part of the library’s eventual main entrance area, which is seeing a total transformation for the first time since 1987. Once complete, the redesign will bring a sense of architectural consistency between the library's historic and modern sections.
For more details about the Jerseyville Public Library expansion project, see this related story on Riverbender.com.
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