Library to re-open at City Hall on Jan. 23

Date: 1/17/2012

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Public Library Director Maria Pagan said if the temporary system installed to heat the City Hall auditorium — the home of the library for the next two years — works well, she expects library operations will resume on Jan. 23.

Pagan explained to Reminder Publications
The heating system has successfully passed one test, she said.

Pagan met with Mayor Alex Morse and members of his staff to address the issue.

“We appreciated the mayor’s participation as well as his concerns for both working conditions (due to low temperatures), under which the library staff has been working, as well as his desire to have the library up and running, providing regular service to Holyoke patrons,” she said.

So far, stacks have been assembled and books have been transported to City Hall. Pagan said that concern about the weight of the books has meant that only about 20,000 volumes will be on shelves. She is hoping that another room in City Hall can be assigned to the library where other books can be stored and retrieved by staff members when requested by a library patron.

Because of the amount of use the library receives, Pagan is concerned about having the library closed for a month to accommodate the move. She said that patrons have already stopped by the City Hall location seeking to check out materials.

She said that computers and telephones are yet to be installed.

For those library patrons who have a physical disability, they should enter City Hall by the back door on the parking deck and take the elevator to the second floor, she explained.

Pagan is planning to have an open house to introduce the new location.