The new Fondulac District Library will open to the public Saturday, November 2, 2013. A celebratory opening ceremony begins at 10 a.m., and the library will open to the public for the first time at 11 a.m. Tours, festivities, events, and activities for all ages will take place throughout the day.

“We are so very pleased to be able to announce our grand opening date. After breaking ground in June of 2012, we are happy to have completed construction within the projected eighteen month time period. Our staff has been working incredibly hard to prepare the library for the move and the reopening and are excited to soon share the wonderful new facility and collections with the community,” said Amy Falasz-Peterson, Library Director.

The new Fondulac District Library facility is located at 400 Richland Street in East Peoria’s Levee District.

The library will be open for business from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on opening day and will be open its regular hours beginning Sunday, November 3. The library’s regular hours will be Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. (The library is closed on Sundays from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekends.)

Additional information about the day’s events and activities will be announced in the coming weeks on the library’s website, fondulaclibrary.org.

Fondulac District Library will close for several weeks beginning September 1 to facilitate relocation to its new building currently in the final phases of construction. The last day the library will be open at its current location of 140 East Washington Street will be Saturday, August 31.

All borrowed Fondulac District Library materials will be due before the closing date of August 31 and should be returned by patrons. After August 31, remaining overdue items may be returned to the blue book drop outside the entrance to the library’s current Washington Street location or to any local public library.

Fondulac District Library will waive overdue fees for all of its items returned at the library in August. The fine-free month does not apply to existing or future overdue fines or to fees related to damaged or lost items.

Despite the temporary closure, patrons will continue to have access to library service. Valid Fondulac District Library cards can be used to check out materials at most all local public libraries, including (but not limited to) those in Peoria, Morton, Creve Coeur, Pekin, and Washington. Patrons may visit local libraries to browse and borrow items directly. Alternatively, they may search the catalogs of these libraries and more online, then place a hold and select a local library (other than Fondulac District Library) as the pickup library.

Online library services, such as the RSAcat library catalog and account management, Alliance Digital Media Library eBooks and audiobooks, and Fondulac District Library’s online research resources, will continue to be available via the library’s website at fondulaclibrary.org and will not be affected.

Fondulac District Library cardholders are encouraged to review the expiration date on their library cards and to visit the library before September 1 to renew expired cards and cards expiring in August and September.

Library patrons who place holds or are on a waiting list for materials should change the pickup location to another local library after August 18 and while Fondulac District Library is closed. Holds that retain Fondulac District Library as a pickup library after August 18 will be suspended until the pickup location is changed or the new facility is opened to the public.

At any time, patrons may log in to their library account online and select another local library as the pickup location for existing holds. Before September 1, patrons also may call Fondulac District Library at (309) 699-3917 to request a new pickup location for existing holds. After August 31, patrons may contact other local libraries to request the change.

Later this fall, Fondulac District Library will reopen at its new facility at 400 South Richland Street in the civic plaza in East Peoria’s Levee District. The new library is 32,000 square feet, almost triple the size of the small current facility. It will feature an expanded collection, increased seating, additional computers, social and study spaces, and more convenient service, as well as environmentally-friendly and cost-saving components. The project is funded by a $7 million bond approved by voters in 2009, and construction of the new library building began in June of 2012.

Amy Falasz-Peterson, Director of Fondulac District Library, noted, “We are excited that the library’s small, outmoded space is going to be replaced with an outstanding new facility of which the residents of East Peoria can be proud. Our new space will help us to better provide information and inspiration to all ages. We look forward to welcoming new users, welcoming back past patrons, and meeting the community’s library needs of today, tomorrow, and beyond.”

Additional information about the relocation, its effect on services, and the opening of the new facility will be announced at fondulaclibrary.org as it is available.

Fondulac District Library’s main level is now open. The lower level will remain closed until further notice.

Laura Warren, Fondulac District Library Reference Assistant, put together this piece for Library Lowdown, the library’s East Peoria Times Courier blog.

And We All Float On Alright…

The past few days here at the Fondulac Library have been action packed.  We have had quite the flood, but we are all working diligently to get everything back on track.

Wednesday April 17, we noticed we had some water coming in, we cleaned it all up and thought we had things under control when the staff left the building early Thursday morning.  When staff came to work Thursday April 18^th they were in for quite the surprise.  In the short time the building had been empty the basement was filling with over 5,000 gallons of water.

At once the staff began the effort to save the collection.  Bottom shelves were quickly cleared.  Books were stashed wherever room was available, magazines were moved to higher ground, media was carried off and furniture was carefully stacked and balanced wherever a dry surface presented itself.  Due to the speed of the staff our collection has been saved with the exception of a handful of items.  With the collection safe from the flood we turned our attention to getting the water out and to the other areas of the library.

A large truck pulled up to begin to pump the water out of the basement, a big red Bubba Dump arrived, and the clean-up effort began.  Though our collection made it through pretty much intact, our storage area was not quite so lucky.  As the water was being pumped out of the building, the employees suited up in big rubber boots and matching rubber gloves and the hauling began.  Because you can’t run an elevator which has standing water in it, countless trips up and down the stairs to heave out water logged items from the basement took up much of our time.  A seemingly endless parade of bags and furniture was marched out of the building to find a resting place in that towering red Bubba Dump.

Finally the water was under control and we called it a night, knowing Friday would be a long day.  Friday morning came early and everyone returned with their gloves and boots all ready for a second day of similar work.  Friday we hauled more material out of the basement filling up our Bubba Dump, and the clean-up began.  By the afternoon most of the water had been pumped out of the building.  The scrubbing, mopping and effort to dry things out was well under way.  A small army of fans, dehumidifiers and other drying equipment arrived and was set up at once.

Saturday April 20, staff monitored the equipment to make sure our drying efforts were maximized while cleaning continued.  Sunday continued with more of the same, the army of equipment in our basement humming quietly and standing vigil over water logged carpet slowly but surely drying walls, carpet, and anything else which may be damp.

Monday April, 22 we all returned back to work.  The library would not be open, the building was not yet ready for the public to return.  Experts came to check the safety of the building as well as how dry walls and floors were.  Work on the computers was continuing, and we are closer to being able to reopen every day.  Currently we expect to be open on Wednesday April, 24^th if everything goes according to plan.  The basement may not be open for a while, but we intend to offer as many services as is possible.

The staff here at Fondulac Library has been awesome.  Everyone has worked so hard these past few days.  The clean-up has been less than fun in many instances, but few complaints were heard.  Bodies are tired but jokes have been many, as we continue to work diligently to ensure our public a safe environment to return to as soon as possible. We would like to thank you all for being so patient while we get all of this under control.  Please check our web site or our Facebook page to see when we will officially be open.

Our thoughts are with all of our patrons who may now be dealing with similar situations. We wish you all the best dealing with the water that has invaded recently.