OGDEN — For more than 48 years, the doors of Weber County’s Main Branch Library on Jefferson Avenue have opened wide to greet patrons checking out books and DVDs, taking English as Second Language classes, participating in children’s activities and attending community events.

But on Friday, Nov. 11, those doors will close as the building shuts down for extensive renovation. The plan is to reopen the Main Library in phases over the course of the coming year.

On average, almost 1,000 patrons visit Ogden’s Main Branch every day, according to Weber County Library Executive Director Lynnda Wangsgard. Computer usage there is higher than at other branches, with about 5,500 sessions logged each month.

To accommodate patrons during the shutdown, Wangsgard said they’ll be setting up more computers at the Pleasant Valley Branch and other places.

The decades-old building, still striking in its architectural style, needs serious infrastructure upgrades. Those will require shutting off water, heat and power, Wangsgard said, and new plumbing and sewer system connections will be installed. Crews will also dig trenches around the perimeter of the building to waterproof its foundation.

The projected $17 million in Main Branch improvements — part of a $45 million bond voters approved in 2013 for system-wide library upgrades — will be accomplished in three phases over 447 days rather than the original five-phased process that would have taken 609 days. By compressing the work, Wangsgard projects a cost savings of several hundred thousand dollars. 

“You pay contractors for the time they have to have crews on-site,” Wangsgard said. “By cutting those days out of the project, the contractor can move on to other work and we save that overhead. This allows us to keep all the nice finishes in the building, and we can get it back online more quickly.”

Interior demolition and asbestos abatement launched several months ago, and that process will continue through the end of the year, with the plan to turn the entire facility over to Wadman Construction by mid-January 2017. The plan is to fully finish and rededicate the building in early 2018.

FREE SHUTTLE SERVICE

Rather than leave patrons in the lurch, a free shuttle service has been arranged to transport people from the bus stop near 25th Street and Jefferson Avenue to the Pleasant Valley Branch at 5568 S. Adams Ave. in Washington Terrace or the new Southwest Branch at 2039 W. 4000 South in Roy. While the Utah Transit Authority will provide the vans, library employees will do the driving and will not make any other stops in between the libraries.

The vans will run during library hours of operation, which includes Sundays. While adults will be able to ride without identification, as well as teens and children who are accompanied by adults, youth under 18 who wish to ride unattended must have a parent or guardian secure free passes for them in advance. A lengthy list of UTA rider rules will apply to shuttle use, including a ban on food and beverages, and no tobacco, drugs or alcohol. 

CATHY MCKITRICK/Standard-Examiner

Parental authorization forms and passes can be obtained at the Main Library until Nov. 11 and at other area libraries after that date. Passes will also be available at The Come Together Community Meal & Resource Fair from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Marshall White Center, 222 28th St. in Ogden.

As portions of the Main Branch reopen in phases, Wangsgard said the vans will continue to run as needed.

“Until we can accommodate people in the way they deserve, we’ll keep running the shuttle,” Wangsgard said. “We might open with access to books but not to computers, so we’ll work it out so that people have an option to get to the service they need.”

NO LAPSE IN PROGRAMS

Wangsgard anticipates the shuttle service will give patrons a glimpse of what the renovated Main Branch will offer when finished. The newer Pleasant Valley and Southwest branches include cafes, art galleries, black box theaters, meeting rooms, expanded computer space and areas for teens and children.

Main Branch employees will shift their presence to the Pleasant Valley and Southwest libraries in order to offer the same children’s programs and services they oversaw in Ogden.

Adult ESL classes have relocated to the Education Center at the Unitarian Universalist Church at 705 23rd St. in Ogden and the Pleasant Valley Branch.

Ogden’s Main Library has traditionally hosted a holiday open house each year on Dec. 24. That event will shift to the Education Building of the Presbyterian Church at 880 28th St. in Ogden. 

Summer reading programs for children are slated to be held in Lester Park, and other future events and locations will be announced as details solidify with community partners.

For more information, contact the library at 801-337-2618

Contact reporter Cathy McKitrick at 801-625-4214 or cmckitrick@standard.net. Follow her on Twitter at @catmck.