PORT TOWNSEND — A sample of library treasures will be passed hand-to-hand during a “people’s chain” today, the Port Townsend Library’s director said, as the facility begins its move to a new, temporary home.
The heavy lifting of moving the 60,000 books and other materials will be done in trucks over three days by professional library movers, Star Moving of Tacoma.
The people’s chain is intended to symbolize the community’s participation in the library, according to its director, Theresa Percy.
“It’ll be happening rain or shine,” she said Friday.
The library is moving its materials from its present site at 1220 Lawrence St., to Mountain View Commons, 1919 Blaine St., during the seismic retrofit of the main Carnegie Library.
The Lawrence Street facility closed Friday.
The library will open Monday, April 16, at its new location after a library staff of six organizes the materials — with all due dates on books extended to that time.
Although there was no formal registration, Percy expects about 100 people to form a line today between the present library to Mountain View Commons, where its books, CDs and DVDs will be housed at least through the end of the year.
“We have a lot of people saying they are going to come, from school kids to adult library users, and they are saying they will bring friends and family,” Percy said.
Participants are invited to line up at about 3:30 p.m., to allow children time to get there after school, in a route that will stretch down Lawrence Street, turn right onto Walker Street and then left onto Blaine.
It’s less than a mile long, Percy said, and about 15 to 20 books will be passed down the line.
“It’s not like we’re going to be passing thousands of books,” she said.
The Community Read books, dictionaries, children’s books, CDs and DVDs will be among the materials passed down the people’s chain, Percy said.
“It a sample of what is offered at the library,” she said.
The seismic retrofit — subsidized by a $761,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, with $265,000 in city matching funds — is the second phase of a three-phase renovation of the library.
The first phase of renovation, the remodeling of the adjacent Charles Pink House into the Library Learning Center, was completed in March, with a budget of $174,000.
The third phase will be the addition of new wing to the main structure on Lawrence Street.
The total project — which is expected to be completed in 2014 — is estimated to cost about $9 million, which will come from a variety of federal, state and local sources, Percy said.
Library officials are seeking $2.5 million of that from private donations.
Revenue from a city levy lid lift approved by voters in 2008 to benefit the public library is earmarked for operations and cannot be used for capital projects, Percy said.
Once in their new home, the adult and teen collections will be in the cafeteria beneath the gym at Mountain View, and the children’s collection will move to a classroom in the main building across from the police station.
The Mountain View main library will be open at varying hours every day of the week, while the children’s section will be open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Wednesday and Sunday.
The main library will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
On Wednesday, it will be open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. only. Friday hours will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday hours will be from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The closure of the children’s library and shorter hours for the main library Wednesdays are to accommodate parking for food bank customers.
During the closure, book drops will continue to operate — one at Mountain View and another at the main library.
Books may continue to be returned at Jefferson County Library, 620 Cedar St., in Port Hadlock and at the book drop at the Port Townsend QFC, 515 Sheridan St.
For more information, visit ptpubliclibrary.org.
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Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant contributed to this story.
