By Ken Wyatt
It isn’t every town that would close down Main Street traffic in mid-day to please local librarians. Count Hanover among that municipal fraternity.
For about half an hour on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 18, students of the Hanover-Horton School District formed a “book chain” across Main Street in the village of Hanover. The purpose of that one-time venture was to transfer books from the now-closed old branch library on the north side of the street to the new library on the south side.
In other words, students passed the books across the street hand-to-hand to the new facility. It was a key part of the transition from the old to the new. In the past, the Jackson District Library leased space from the Village of Hanover for the branch there. But as Liz Breed, director of the district system, explained, this is part of improvements being made throughout the district.
She was on hand Monday as local library staffers continued the work of preparing the new building for public use. The district’s facilities manager, Jeff Huey, was also on hand.
The two of them provided background and related information about the Hanover changes as well as renovations elsewhere in the district. There has been work done in all areas – electrical, plumbing, heating. The shelving is in place, full of books, but they await delivery of the furniture.
The old building had a total of about 1,000 square feet of space, but it was a two-story building – in other words, not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The new building, which formerly housed the Bombshells Beauty Parlor, was purchased by the district last year for $65,000. It is all on one floor, thus ADA compatible. It has about 1,500 square feet of space.
Both the old and new buildings are closed for library use until the new one is ready for use by library patrons. That is expected to take place early in the New Year.
The Hanover renovation is the latest nearing completion in the district’s ongoing efforts to honor a pledge made regarding tax dollars that support the district. In the recent past, renovations have taken place at the Carnegie Branch in downtown Jackson and at the Henrietta Branch on Bunkerhill Road near Pleasant Lake. “We’re really getting to be a well-oiled machine with this kind of work, Director Breed said.
