Francis Branch Staff Tours New Building

Last Thursday morning the Francis Branch staff got a peek at the progress of the ongoing construction of the new Francis Branch. Once inside, the oohs and aahs started early.

While outside the weather is cold, inside the heaters are going and crews are working in short sleeves.  A lot of the guys were on lunch break when we visited, but we could see there was a large crew on the job.

Dustin, the site manager for The Robert Henry Corporation, led the group around the work-in-progress, identifying spaces and pointing out interesting features.  There are two oblong holes in the wall where the drive-up bookdrops will go.  The walls are tall and there are plenty of windows for natural light, so we’ll have no dark catacombs in the stacks of this new branch.

There’s a big window in the staff workroom so the staff can watch over the branch, and vice versa.  There’s a space on the north wall where a fireplace and seating area will go.  The Teen Area is right next to a seating/snacking area that will have tables and vending machines.  The steel frame of the silo play structure in the Children’s Area is up and looking like a giant erector set.

Without lights, book shelves, and finished walls and ceiling, the place looks large and empty. Of course, we’ll fill it soon.  The work is on schedule for an early summer opening.  Meanwhile we are all still here in the old building making preparations for the big move, and, of course, we remain open for business until the new branch is ready for inhabitation.  Look here for pictures of the new Francis Branch project, from groundbreaking until now.  Staff member Sharon Rutherford is our semi-official branch photographer.  Look for more news and photographs soon.