West Slope Library Remodel
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Our beloved West Slope Library is getting a much-needed refreshed interior. And – even more exciting – it won’t be limited to just carpet, paint and new furniture (although as you know, those are badly needed). We’ll also be able to create a new layout that will open up lots of new opportunities and services for patrons.
Here are a few of the changes you’ll notice right away:
· We’ll be installing holds lockers to meet our ever-growing demand for holds materials. These lockers will be low-to-no-touch, which will maintain safety and privacy and also increase patron convenience and holds capacity.
· We’ll have an entirely new kids’ space, with a family restroom, family entrance, proximity to our outside lawn, and dedicated self-check-out.
· We’ll be able to offer more technology help and workshops, because computers will be together in one location instead of scattered throughout the library. Once COVID restrictions can be relaxed, we’ll be developing lots of new technology programs for patrons.
· Patron accessibility will be improved with new doors and new circulation desk.
· Our staff workspace will be improved to enable physical distancing and increase our work capacity and efficiency.
As you can see, these exciting changes prioritize patron service, health and safety, and overall accessibility – allowing everyone to get the most out of our facility.
We will soon be unpacking boxes, fine-tuning our new workflows, and getting ready to resume in-person library services on June 16. In our June newsletter, we will preview what services will be available when we return. We are so excited that we will get to see you again soon.
Frequently Asked Questions:
We are not moving or permanently closing — our interiors will be remodeled and refreshed to improve patron accessibility and services.
As part of the FY20-21 Washington County budget process, we requested $250,000 in capital improvements for the West Slope Library facility, which was approved by the County Board of Commissioners in June 2020 when they adopted the budget. In addition, we requested $100,000 of CARES funding to offset the costs of providing services to the public in the pandemic.
We will soon be unpacking boxes, fine-tuning our new workflows, and getting ready to resume in-person library services on June 16. In our June newsletter, we will preview what services will be available when we return. We are so excited that we will get to see you again soon.
For holds you’ve already placed, we can help! Items in shipped or held status by November 1 will be waiting for you for pickup at West Slope. You’ll want to change your pickup location temporarily to a different library for any other holds you’ve already placed.
For new holds you place while we are closed, you will need to select a different pickup location starting November 2. Here’s how to do that in our catalog, or you can contact us for help.
You will be able to return your items to one of our neighbor libraries—or any other Washington County library. Garden Home and Beaverton are closest to West Slope.
WiFi outside of our building will experience some disruption during the remodel. We will do our best to communicate when we anticipate outages.
We are always so grateful to our volunteers for their continued support. Since we are still following COVID guidelines around physical distancing and keeping working teams small, we will not be asking volunteers to help at this stage.
We are happy to work with you to renew your items over the phone and email.
All our virtual programs, such as storytime, adult book club, Here to Help, Booktalks, and Book a Librarian, lending of ebooks and audiobooks and streaming video services will continue uninterrupted.
We will be storing our library materials at the WCCLS warehouse. Our furniture, shelving, and office supplies will be stored with County Facilities.
We anticipate that the changes we are making will allow patrons to come inside the library for increased services after the remodel. However, we will continue to assess and work with County Health and Human Services to determine what we can safely offer this Spring.
Yes and no. The library has needed to be upgraded for some time and that work was planned pre-COVID. In light of additional needs for COVID safety and accessibility, we are fortunate to be able to add those improvements onto our original plans.
We budgeted funds to make the library more inviting and accessible for the fiscal year starting July 2020. We are also addressing COVID by using these funds to make the space safer for all.