Linebaugh Public Library is making some changes to better serve the community. Carol Ghattas, Linebaugh Branch Librarian, explains the overall purpose of the project: “In our efforts to make the library a more welcoming space and to provide better services to all ages, we will be shifting our collections and rearranging our space. The end result is that adult materials, with the exception of media and graphic novels, will be on the 2nd floor, while children and young adult materials, youth services programming and teen study space will be on the main level.”
The project will take place in stages in order to minimize the days the library is actually closed to the public. Ghattas continues, “To open up space on the first floor and make it more flexible, we will be taking down the two “zigzag” walls that currently divide the space between the Children’s Area and Adult Fiction.” Due to the nature of this work, the Library Board has given us permission to close from Saturday, August 25 through Wednesday, August 29.” During the closure, the library will also be putting in some new flooring in the main entrance of the library.
Though the library will be closed, patrons who have available holds to pick up will be able to go to the service door on the Church Street side of the library and ring the bell for a staff member to check out their materials to them. No other services will be available, though returned materials can also be dropped off in the book return at the same location. The service times for holds will be:
Saturday, August 25: 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, August 26: 1:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Monday through Wednesday, August 27-29: 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
The library will reopen on Thursday, August 30. All other Rutherford County Library System branches will maintain their regular operating hours during this time.
The final shifting of materials will take place later in the fall. With the opening of the new Technological Engagement Center (TEC), Linebaugh will no longer be the hub for all computer classes. The library will be receiving new public computers in October, but will decrease the overall number available. “Our computer lab will shift locations on the 2nd floor once the new computers arrive,” says Ghattas, “so we may be several months without classes at Linebaugh. However, both the TEC and Smyrna branches will begin classes in August and September, so patrons will continue to have access to computer education during our break. I encourage everyone to keep an eye on the RCLS calendar at our website, rclstn.org.”