The San Juan Island Library has officially begun its renovation project, allowing it to continue growing with the community. The project is the culmination of long-range planning begun with the original expansion of the building, which took place ten years ago. Since the bond that paid for that project was retired, money has been set aside each year to continue the project. The library's shelving capacity will be increased by 30%.
 

            Westmiller Construction of San Juan Island was awarded the construction contract after two rounds of bidding. "In the first round, all the bids came in much higher than our budget," said Library Director Lauren Stara. " With a few changes to the drawings, more clarifications than modifications of the design, we rebid the project and saved about $100,000." The awarded bid was $218,180.
 

            Construction on the exterior of the building began on January 3, necessitating the closing of the main entrance to the building. Regular hours and services are all in effect, with traffic routed to the east side (Meeting Room) entrance.
 

            The library will be closed for 4 weeks, starting on February 4; reopening planned for Monday, March 7. From Friday, January 28 to Thursday, February 3, patrons are encouraged to check out as many books as they like from the collection, with a 6-week loan period. Portions of the library will remain under construction until early April, when a Grand Opening party is planned in cooperation with the Friends of the Library.
 

During the library closure, public library services will still be available twice a week at the Friday Harbor High School Library. "The school district was concerned about students having access to homework resources after school, so we worked hard to make this happen," said Stara. San Juan Island Library employees will staff the High School Library's facility, making it available to the entire community. "We'll be relocating our entire New Book shelf, our fiction videos and DVDs, some newspapers and magazines, children's books (including extensive curriculum support), and other selected items. Internet access will be available as well. It'll be like a miniature version of our library, with the highest-use materials, Stara added. "Patrons can also request other items by phone, email, or on the website, which the staff will bring to the High School for pickup." The High School library will be open to the public on Tuesdays from 4 pm to 8 pm and Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm. The first day of operations at the High School will be Tuesday February 8th.