Chapel Hill Public Library to close for renovations until December 2012

The Chapel Hill Public Library might be a quiet space now, but it will become even more silent after the library closes its doors tonight to move to a temporary location at University Mall.

At 9 p.m. the library will close to allow staff to prepare for the relocation. Circulation librarian Maggie Hite said it will reopen in two to three weeks at the mall, where it will stay until December 2012.

The temporary move comes after town residents approved a $16 million renovation to the current Library Drive location.

During the moving period, users will not be able to check out books.

And library users are stocking up. Hite said circulation was up about 40 percent this weekend.

Chapel Hill resident Debbie Mozgala visited the library Wednesday to check out books before the move.

She said she visits the library with her daughter once a week, and the Library Drive location is convenient for them.

“Everything we need is in this area, which is why we love this location,” she said.

But Hite said she believes University Mall will provide an adequate alternative for users.

The library is also encouraging people to take advantage of other locations like the Orange County Public Library in Hillsborough and the Carrboro Cybrary, which is in downtown Carrboro.

Durham resident David Drake, who said he visits the town’s library often, said he will take advantage of some of the county’s other library options during the relocation.

“I just learned about the Carrboro Cybrary, so I plan to check that out,” he said. “I will also visit the library’s new location at the mall.”

Although the mall location is smaller than the library’s current location, Hite said it will offer new services like self-checkout and self-pickup of reserved books.

“People have been requesting that we offer these two services, and we will finally be able to give this to them,” she said.

Hite said although the new location will offer a smaller collection, all of the library’s books can be accessed upon request.

She said that once the library’s newly renovated building opens, it will offer more space and will satisfy most of the community’s needs.

Some of the new features will include a bigger children’s area, an expanded meeting space and more computers and televisions.

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