Construction wraps up on Dexter library, March opening set

Wednesday, February 18, 2009 | Source: Concentrate

At long last, books in Dexter have a new home. The new Dexter District Library is finished.

Construction workers are putting the finishing touches on the new building while movers begin to move the library's stacks into their new home. Library officials are planning for an early March opening.

"It's all sort of hitting us pretty fast but it's great," says Paul McCann, library director for the Dexter District Library.

The new building is in downtown Dexter, 3255 Alpine Street, and overlooks Warrior Creek Park and the Mill Creek bridge. The $7.8 million structure measures out at 25,000-square-feet and two stories. It features more space for books and other materials, studying and reading space and meeting rooms. There will also be computer rooms and wireless Internet access for library patrons.

There will be expanded computer resources, significantly more study space, a quiet reading area and more comfortable seating throughout the building. The meeting room space will comfortably accommodate 200 people without the moving book stacks to free up space, which must be done in the current library.

It replaces the 4,200-square-foot old library, formerly the Methodist Church Education Building, it moved into in 1996. The future of the old building has been tossed around ever since the library announced it was moving.

The village at one time intended to move its offices into it, and is still considering that option. McCann says the library is also looking at selling the building to DISS Data by the time it moves into its new home.

Source: Paul McCann, library director for the Dexter District Library
Writer: Jon Zemke