The Three Rivers Public Library (TRPL) opened its new facility at the corner of North Main and Moore Streets to a limited number of inside customers Monday. Although it has been providing curbside service since September 21, the interior of the library has been closed to the public while construction was completed, staff became accustomed to new space, and the pandemic and planning for related safety measures played out.

TRPL Acting Director Bobbi Schoon said she was excited for Monday’s opening. “We really had a pretty steady flow of people all day long, which has been really, really great. We’re starting to get all the nice feedback about the library. We finally get to share it with everybody,” she said. Prior to Monday, Schoon said TRPL board members, funders, and other stakeholders in the building project had gotten periodic tours, but aside from that, the building was open only to staff.

Under current procedures, Schoon said the library is open to up to 35 members of the public at a time, which staff determined by subtracting personnel from the total occupancy permitted by the local health department. Staff positioned near the library’s front door have a counter to keep track of how many people are in the building at once.

Jean Thompson, a Service Specialist, was stationed at the library’s ground level front circulation desk on Monday. “It has been busy today. The phone has been ringing off the hook, and 69 people have crossed the threshold,” Thompson said. “It has definitely been a busy day.” Despite that, she said, “it seems like people are coming in, getting what they want, and leaving,” so she does not feel there will be a danger of approaching the limited capacity at most times.

Out of an abundance of caution, School and other staff have enacted procedures to ensure visitor safety amid the ongoing pandemic. Robert Rothman, the library’s maintenance staff member, was on hand Monday to keep surfaces clean, and Thompson took visitor temperatures and monitored for other symptoms. Staff also took precautions for cleanliness in handling books. Signs and labels remind visitors to observe social distancing measures.

Visitors and staff have both reacted positively to the new TRPL building, renovated over the last several years after the Southern Michigan Bank and Trust Company vacated the building in 2017. “I think the designers and the builders did a really good job of making it feel really welcoming, and, and like a place you want to hang out,” Schoon said.

Because the library is now divided between two floors with a different layout of rooms and spaces than the old location on West Michigan Avenue, staff faced both an opportunity and a challenge in figuring out where the library’s different features and sections should go. “We spent a little time going, ‘okay, where does this go now,’” Schoon said. “Our spaces don’t look like they did before, so we had to find new homes for things that have had a home for 30 years.”

Thompson said, “everybody’s pleased with the new layout and the sections.” The fiction section, which was formerly a single section, has been divided into 12 separate areas including mysteries, thrillers, westerns, romance, and others. Plus, Thompson said, “there are lots more spaces for teens and kids upstairs. They’re going to love it.”

Thompson said the new library provides the benefit of more display space, which helps keep books in circulation. “A lot of times, people forget about older books. Display space lets us have a sort of “save me” section” where staff can display them for the public. A seating section has also been well-received, Thompson said, with seats containing built-in device plugs similar to those found in many airport waiting areas. “And, there’s windows! We’re not in a cave anymore,” Thompson said.

There are also additional program rooms that didn’t exist in the previous building. “Once the health department allows us to open and have more people around, we will be super busy, because those will allow us to host and feature lots of programs,” Thompson said.

Although there are a few minor items to complete, construction is largely wrapped up. Schoon said the work to get the building and the staff ready to provide service and open to the public has been significant. “We had a lot of little last-minute details to finalize and make sure were right, and there was a lot of work moving over here. Take any time I’ve ever moved my house times, like, 20.” Providing curbside service over the last several weeks gave staff time “to really settle in and kind of figure things out, but not make people wait for their books any longer,” Schoon said.

To recognize the library’s restart in the new building, Schoon said, “we’re doing a ‘Start Fresh with Us’ campaign. Anybody that comes in, and we sent mailers to everybody in our service areas, but we’re forgiving all fines for any reason to start fresh with us.” The campaign is in lieu of a larger grand opening celebration, which would be limited by current pandemic restrictions. “We were kind of like, ‘what can we do to excited with people?’ So that’s one of the things that we were that we thought of that we were able to kind of do from a distance,” Schoon said.

Schoon has been with the building project for almost her entire time working for the library. Her first day as a library employee was October 17, 2017, and TRPL bought the former bank building just one month later. “It’s been my whole career here, this project,” Schoon said. “People come and say, ‘oh you must be relieved to have it done,’ and I’m not yet completely. There are still details to finish, and then I’ll feel better. But, I’m grateful that we are able to be here and open. Now, we just need the pandemic to pass.”

Despite that, Schoon said she is proud of the work and the result. She and staff contributed significantly to the space’s layout, design, and character, and to making sure the move went smoothly and quickly. “It’s been pretty amazing,” Schoon said of the building’s transformation from a bank to a library. “It’s been a lot of work and a long process. From the first time coming into the building and seeing it now, you wouldn’t believe the difference.”

The library is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Visitors are required to wear a mask and will be monitored for temperature and other symptoms upon entering the building.

Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.