In preparation for next month’s opening of the new $26 million Rockville Library, staff members are shutting down shop at the library directly across from the County Council building so they can begin the arduous move to their new building.
The shift is not just a big deal for book lovers. The library will be the first new building to open in a $350 million-plus project designed to completely transform the city of Rockville.
According to planners, by the spring, the revised Rockville Town Center will house a new business incubator network, condominiums, retail, eateries, entertainment and more. The library will reside on Maryland Avenue in the heart of the transformed downtown area.
Construction on the new library began in January 2005 and finished last week, slightly later than the original summer deadline.
Hamilton said the soon-to-be-opened, three-story facility will have everything the old Rockville library lacked: meeting rooms, group study areas, tutor rooms and, for computer-savvy cardholders, plenty of computers and wireless access for laptops.
There also will be a massive Library of Congress talking books program, and the site will be the location for the county’s special-needs book program.
“It’s more accessible, it’s larger and it’s going to have a much larger circulation collection,” said Barbara Norland, a public services administrator for the county’s libraries.
About 60,000 new books and collections will be added to the existing 140,000 volumes, according to county estimates.
A precise date has not yet been set for the opening of the facility, but the public can get a sneak peak of the book haven on Nov. 11.
