MANSFIELD — The Mansfield-Richland County Public Library celebrated its first floor renovations Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The library’s new first floor at the Main Branch, 43 W. Third St., includes a new entryway with bookshelves, desks and a seating area.
Library director Chris May said he was pleased with the results, adding the setup will be more efficient for staff and customers, alike.
“Before we had two doors, an entrance and an exit, and it didn’t create a good flow. It gave it a chopped up feel,” May said.
Plans for the project have been underway for approximately a year, but the renovations were completed earlier this month. The library closed for about a week and a half.
“It actually came to fruition better than we could have imagined when we set the plans in place,” May said.
He said he likes how the new blue-and-grey carpet pairs with the dark wooden bookshelves and the new blue furniture in the seating area. The previous setup didn’t allow room for a seating area.
Initially, he wondered if the new space included too many chairs, but he’s already seen them all in use.
Additionally, May highlighted that the library has made other improvements in the past year, including replacement of the first-floor lighting and redesign of the teen section on the second floor.
Also, Richland Public Health has added health kiosks to every Mansfield-Richland public library location. Mansfield’s branch has its kiosk on the second floor.
“(The kiosk) is already pre-loaded with quality resources,” May said.
The first-floor renovations were designed by the Columbus-based Library Design Associates. They were expected to come to a total cost of under $100,000.
“Everybody sees this part of the building, no matter what they’re doing here, so it needs to be welcoming and warm, and it needs to make sense. And I think this is warm, welcoming and makes sense,” May said.
