April 20, 2018 – The Excelsior Springs Mid-Continent Public Library building will be closed this spring for renovations, as part of their plans for capital improvements.
“We are still waiting on board approval for final design and start date, but we are thinking June-ish for construction to start,” said Mid-Continent Public Library’s Capital Improvement Project Manager Jacob Wimmer. “There’s going to be 24 renovations, six new libraries, and four major gut remodels of existing libraries. Excelsior Springs gets to welcome in the first phase, moving forward.”
“I don’t have an exact date for you,” he added, “but I can say late spring, early summer, for approximately 120 days.”
The Excelsior Springs branch will be receiving a major overhaul.
“With that, we are going to bring to you a fabulous renovation,” Wimmer stated. “We are really excited about it. You are going to get a 65-person meeting room, new HVAC, ADA-accessible restrooms, and some other things as we move forward. We are basically adding to the front of the library.” The meeting room will be used for library programs, as well as be open for reservations from the public. There will also be a small study room added.
“I am going to ask for your patience, and I am going to ask for your support. We are very excited about this first phase. And we are going to make sure the taxpayer gets the most bang for their buck, going forward with these renovations,” he finished.
The library improvements are made possible by the passage of Proposition L in November of 2016, which also expanded library hours.
Although the building will be closed, library services will still be available in the fullest capacity possible.
“Our building is going to be closed, but we are going to be offering some library services,” Excelsior Springs MCPL Branch Manager Stephen Chalmers said. “We’ll be doing some programs at the community center. And we will continue to do all of our outreach that we do, as well. And we are working with the city on where we can possibly have some reading rooms, and a summer reading program site. Obviously, we can’t offer everything we normally would without a 10,000 square foot building at our disposal, but we are going to continue to have as many library services as we can here in town.”