Construction Progress!

Much progress is being made at the Library construction site. Friends President Christine Alger took a tour in January and gave an enthusiastic report at the Friends Board meeting on February 13. Board members Connie Kennedy and Sandy Ward joined a tour on February 19 and captured these photos.

Tom Ryan of D.A. Sullivan & Sons (the Owners Project Managers, or O.P.M., for this huge construction project) led each tour.  Library Director María Pagán helped explain what would be where in the finished library.

Two spaces of particular interest to the Friends are now visible. The Children's Story-Telling Area, for which the Friends have pledged $100,000, is now well-defined on the second floor of the addition.

Here is the view from inside the Story-Telling area.

The wall outside the Story-Telling area was being painted as we walked by. It is at the south end of the very large new Children's Room. This photo illustrates a point made by our tour guide on February 19: the project now includes a mix of rough construction and fine finishing, a variety of different types of work going on simultaneously.

Connie in the Friends office space

We were delighted to see the room that will become the Friends office. The Friends organization will at last have a real place to store files, work on projects, and have meetings of committees or small groups.

Our room is in the basement, or "Lower Level," which has been remarkably transformed from the odd mix of different levels and spaces that used to be under the 1902 building. This Lower Level also includes library staff work areas, the Director's Office, and a large room for compact shelving to hold archival collections.

In the photo at left, Sandy is standing on the 1902 main floor level near where new stairways (connecting all levels, old and new) will be constructed. Behind her is the Children's Room (above) and new main floor/entrance area (below).

Because the Library's new entrance faces Chestnut Street, a new address has been assigned: 250 Chestnut Street.

Friendly workmen greeted us, including this proud Friend of the Library who had just finished cleaning the hallway before we walked through.

If you would like to join one of the tours, which are scheduled every few weeks on Tuesday afternoons, please contact the Library Campaign office (Matt Blumenfeld or Debra Vega) at 413-322-5636.

Hard hats are provided. Tour groups are limited in size to avoid disrupting the on-going work.

Glass block publicity: ABC 40, MassLive

Samples of the glass floor panels from the Library's stack wing are on display on the 2nd floor of City Hall. A TV camera team from abc40-WGGY came Monday January 14th to interview members of HPL's Glass Block Committee about a new initiative for creative re-use of selected glass blocks.  The 6 o'clock evening news included this report:

Holyoke Public Library announces art competition

Monday morning MassLive posted an excellent article by Mike Plaisance:

Holyoke Public Library glass floor panels offered as catalyst to community art event

Deadline for submission of proposals in January 31.  Entry forms and details are now available on the Library's website, both on the home page and on a new page that includes links to history of the old stacks.

Some glass blocks are also FOR SALE to the public. Friends of the Library receive a 20% discount.  One size category has sold out, but others remain in stock.  Contact María Pagán to order.

2012 Progress towards new Library

As 2012 ends, let's look back at the past twelve months of progress in constructing Holyoke's Library of the future.   See this photo gallery documenting the construction:

Library Construction Photos
(Click the Slideshow button, upper right, to watch the images flip by)

Construction started in earnest in mid-January 2012. Now, less than twelve months later, the building project is 60% complete -- on budget and on schedule for an opening in fall 2013. That is something to CELEBRATE!     Happy New Year!

The gallery includes some videos created with images from a time-lapse camera stationed on the Masonic Lodge roof, across Chestnut Street. You'll have to stop the slide show to see the videos.

Ornament selling well!

The new ornament featuring a City Hall stained glass window is selling well. Many stores and locations are assisting us with the sales. In Holyoke, you can purchase ornaments at The Cottage, LaJustice Printing, DE Bourque Auto Repair, Highland Hardware, Pizza D'Action, as well as at the Library and the Mayor's Office in City Hall. In South Hadley, visit The Odyssey Bookshop.

Today, Tuesday Dec 18, 5:00 -7:00 pm, we will be selling both new and older ornaments at the special Raffle event and celebration at Gateway City Arts, 92 Race Street, Holyoke.  All proceeds from the raffle will benefit the Holyoke Public Library’s expansion and renovation project. The raffle drawing (for 3-yr lease of 2013 Hyundai Elantra,  ski vacation, and Barnes and Noble gift basket) will take place at 6:30pm. Come enjoy beer tasting and live music before the drawing.

New Ornament!

Holyoke Public Library
Ornament Presentation

Wed. Dec. 12, 2012
5:00 pm

Holyoke City Hall, Library

Please join The Friends of the Holyoke Public Library as we present our newest in an ongoing series of ornaments and the very first in color. This year we have chosen to capture one of the beautiful stained glass windows in City Hall. The ornament is a reproduction of the Agricultural theme and is made right here in Massachusetts.

A holiday shopping opportunity that benefits two worthy causes: the Friends of the Library and the Stained Glass Window Restoration Fund.  Ornaments will be for sale at varying prices. The new one is $18 with $2 of each sale donated to the Stained Glass Window Restoration Fund.

Refreshments will be served.

For more information please contact Christine Alger, President, 413-627-3015 or chrialg6 [at] gmail.com

Upcoming events

Please join us for any or all of these upcoming library events:

Wednesday, November 28, 6:30pm: a talk and slide show by Friends board member Elaine Baskin about the artisans’ colony of Guaitil, Costa Rica, where she has lived and worked.  Library meeting room, City Hall.

Thursday, November 29, all day (9:00am -10:00pm) Bookfair at Barnes and Noble to benefit the Holyoke Public Library's Renovation and Expansion. Library volunteers will be on hand to provide information about the library and hand out coupons. The "Drive to the Future" car will be parked nearby and raffle tickets will be available.

Saturday, December 1,  7:00pm, Christmas Concert "From Montaña to Main Street: The Cuatro  Concert" at Our Lady of the Cross Hall, 23 Sycamore St (between Dwight and Appleton Streets), Holyoke. This concert featuring musicians Jeff Kust and José Gonzalez is presented by the Puerto Rican Cultural Project and the Holyoke Public Library. For more information, call Library Director María Pagán at 413-322-5640.

Monday December 3, 6:30pm. Tom Keeler of the Holyoke Public Library staff will demonstrate his use of found materials to create musical instruments in miniature. “Refuse to Refrains: Making Drum Kits from Discards” will include examples of Tom’s work. Library meeting room, City Hall.

Wednesday December 12, "Valley Gives"day. Residents of Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties will join together for 24 hours in special events and online campaigns in support of their favorite charities. Please support the Holyoke Public Library that day. "At the end of 24 hours, the top three nonprofits that have raised the most money and the top three nonprofits that have the most donors will be rewarded with special grants of $15,000, $10,000 and $5,000. The nonprofit in 12th place in each category will receive $1,200. In addition to those prizes, participating nonprofits will be eligible for special bonus gifts given between 11am and midnight to randomly selected winners." Help the Holyoke Public Library by donating online between 12 AM and 11:59 PM on 12.12.12.

Wednesday December 12, 5:30-7:00pm. Friends of the Library meeting. All welcome! Library meeting room, City Hall.

Save the evening of Tuesday December 18 for a special event including the RAFFLE drawing.  Buy your RAFFLE TICKETS before then for a chance to win:

• A three-year lease for a 2013 Hyundai Elantra (Courtesy of Gary Rome Hyundai)

• An all-expenses paid ski vacation for four (Courtesy of Clear Channel)

• A Barnes & Noble gift basket full of goodies (Courtesy of Barnes & Noble)

Thank You!

Video of Gail Rubin's book talk

Did you miss the October 22nd book talk by Gail Rubin?  Perhaps you'd like to see what you missed?  Fortunately, Gail set up a video camera and recorded her talk.  The video came out very well and she has posted it on YouTube and also on her Family Plot blog:

Click here for Gail's blog entry about her Holyoke library talk

She certainly is an entertaining speaker!  Her book, A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don't Plan to Die, is full of practical information and interesting stories from her experiences helping families create memorable goodbyes for loved ones.