Get ready for it: The Verona Public Library has announced that it will be celebrating its reopening on Saturday, December 1.
In March 2017, the Library closed its historic Carnegie building in the center of town for a near-total gut renovation and expansion, and moved part of its collection to cramped quarters in the Verona Community Center Annex building. This past June, MyVeronaNJ got a sneak peek at the renovation, and Library Director Cheryl Ashley promised that the old building would be ready for new readers on December 1.
On that Saturday, which is also the date for Fair in the Square, there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon presided over by Mayor Kevin Ryan. Then the big doors will swing open to show off all the work inside, which includes the addition of an elevator, new seating, more computer and charging stations, a working fireplace, updated meeting and activity rooms, and a MakerSpace with 3-D printing and virtual reality technology. Not to mention the collection of over 50,000 books, periodicals, DVDs, audiobooks, CDs and video games.
Once you are done touring the new space, you can participate in face painting, balloon art, crafting and 3-D printing. Verona’s own “Great Scott, the Magician” will be strolling throughout the building with his bag of tricks and there will be a performance by Celtic harpist Joan Eagan.
But it might be a good idea to take out a few extra books this month: The temporary library at the Verona Community Center Annex will close to the public on Monday, November 19, so that everything there can be packed up to move back to the main building.
The Library will be open noon to 5 p.m. on December 1 and will resume a normal operating schedule the next day.
