Francis Branch Construction Updates – April 6

As Sherlock Holmes might say, “The game is afoot.” We now have more information on how and when our Francis Branch on North Ironwood will close and reopen.

All of us here at Francis Branch have been working to prepare our collections for our big move to the new building. Some of the changes are already obvious. We have emptied some of the displays, weeded our collections, and have boxed most of what we’re taking over.

After this week, we will no longer be a pickup location for holds. If you have any outstanding holds, including items on order, currently checked out, requested through Interlibrary Loan, or on shelf at another location, expect a call from us to set up an alternate pickup location. If you’re in the branch this week and you have outstanding holds, ask us to change the location of your holds and save us both a phone call.

Our last day in the old building is Saturday, April 25, and our book drop will close after Sunday, April 26. Once we are closed, return your checked out items to any other SJCPL location. We begin our move first thing Monday morning. This will take a week or two, and then our staff will begin RFID tagging our collection to allow us to use the nifty new self-check machines and materials handling machines when we reopen. Other SJCPL locations already have the self-check machines and Main Library already has an impressive materials handling machine.

On Saturday, May 16, we’ll have a furniture sale in our old building. The sale will start at 9:00 a.m. and last until 3:00 p.m. We’ll sell everything we don’t need for the new building. We’ll post here soon details and a list of the most notable items for sale. This will be a big event.

After the sale, the construction crews will bring down our old building to make room for our parking lot. We should be open by or before August. Look here for announcements as we plan our dedication and some special events to celebrate our reopening. Look for our children’s storytimes and lapsits to return in September. By early summer we’ll open up our meeting rooms (two in the new building!) for reservations. The rooms will be available in October.

And how are the workers doing in the new building? These photos are a few weeks old, but offer a good view of some of the new building’s features. The last things in will be the carpeting, the furniture, and the shelving. Watch this space for more news and photos.