CARTHAGE — Renovations at the Carthage Free Library are nearing completion, and as a result, the library will close for September.

With the new 3,400-square-foot addition complete, construction workers will move to the library’s old section to complete renovations.

“They won’t be able to work around the public,” said library Director Linda M. McCullough. “We will be boxing up the books and storing them in the new addition while they work.”

The $1.1 million project will double the library’s space, make it accessible to the handicapped and improve its heating and cooling system. The renovations will add a teen room, a separate area for computers and a community room. The project also will enlarge the children’s reading room and the Heritage Room.

“The handicapped accessibility and the separate computer room will make the library more accessible to senior citizens and others who are taking advantage of the computer classes,” said board of trustees President Camelia T. Moses.

Presently the computers are scattered among the bookshelves on the main floor and classes are held in the lower level between bookcases. Mrs. Moses said the new computer room also will offer more privacy to computer users.

The new community room will be used for meetings and community events.

Library supporters began raising money for the project before the September groundbreaking and at the event, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $50,000 grant and $450,000 loan package for the library.

“Thus far we have raised approximately $900,000 in pledges and donations. We are continuing to pursue fundraising through grants and other opportunities,” Mrs. Moses said. “The community has been continually supportive, which allows us to do this for them.”

The library is selling decorative memorial bricks to help defray the cost of the expansion and renovation. A decorative brick, at a cost of $50, will hold up to 40 characters, spaces included, and a premium brick at $100 will hold 80 characters. Names, a written message or a memorial may be engraved on the bricks, which will be displayed inside the library. Order forms for the fundraiser are available through local businesses, including the Carthage Republican Tribune office, 237 State St.

Donors giving $5,000 or more may have an opportunity to be remembered for years to come by having a piece of the expansion named in their honor.

The library will be open during its regular hours, from noon to 4 p.m., on Sept. 1. Then it will be closed until sometime in early October. During the closure, the library staff urges patrons to visit neighboring libraries in Black River, Lowville, Harrisville and Watertown. Books may be returned to the Carthage library using the outdoor book return box.

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