Alpena library opens after renovations
News Photo by Barbara Woodham John Maleport, 2, and his mother, Kayla Maleport, play with toys at the Alpena County Library on Monday.
News Photo by Barbara Woodham A Teen Zone room in the Alpena County Library appears on Monday.
News Photo by Barbara Woodham Tina Markowski, the library’s department head of public service, holds the door for Joe Schilling of Alpena at the Alpena County Library on Monday.
News Photo by Barbara Woodham Don La Barre, head of special collections and archives, reads in the history room of the Alpena County Library on Monday.
News Photo by Barbara Woodham Pat Garant and Leslie Kirchoff, coordinators for the READ Adult Literacy program, walk the stairs at Alpena County Library on Monday.
News Photo by Barbara Woodham A resident walks up to the Alpena County Library on Monday.
News Photo by Barbara Woodham John Maleport, 2, and his mother, Kayla Maleport, play with toys at the Alpena County Library on Monday.
News Photo by Barbara Woodham A Teen Zone room in the Alpena County Library appears on Monday.
News Photo by Barbara Woodham Tina Markowski, the library’s department head of public service, holds the door for Joe Schilling of Alpena at the Alpena County Library on Monday.
News Photo by Barbara Woodham Don La Barre, head of special collections and archives, reads in the history room of the Alpena County Library on Monday.
News Photo by Barbara Woodham Pat Garant and Leslie Kirchoff, coordinators for the READ Adult Literacy program, walk the stairs at Alpena County Library on Monday.
News Photo by Barbara Woodham A resident walks up to the Alpena County Library on Monday.
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ALPENA — After more than a year of being closed for renovations, the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library was open for business again on Monday.
The building had been closed for renovation since September 2020.
The staff was very excited to open their doors and allow residents to explore the new, updated space.
Joe Schilling, of Alpena, was waiting at the doors at 9 a.m. sharp.
"I am so curious to see what it looks like inside," he said.
The library's Department Head of Public Service, Tina Markowski, turned the key with great joy for the building to be up and running again.
Inside, it didn't take long for the library to come alive with activity.
John Maleport, 2, explored the new toys in the children's department with his mom, Kayla Maleport.
Mary Clute is a youth librarian and has been at the library for 27 years. She works to put together children's programs.
"It's a great place to work," she said.
Sara Grochowski, youth and teen librarian, introduced the new Teen Zone, a room where adults are prohibited to hang out. The Teen Zone room is specifically designed for ages 13 to 18, Grochowski said.
A metal staircase welcomed visitors as they entered, this one replacing the former staircase in the center of the ground-floor. This opens up space for browsing books and working on computers. The bathrooms have been remodeled and modern fixtures and furniture are installed throughout the building.
Other spaces, like the Alpena history room have been upgraded too.
Don La Barre, head of special collections and archives at the library, explained that this room has lots of history, genealogy, bibliography, and archives from the Alpena area, including maritime shipwreck information from the 19th century and newspaper archives.
Eric Magness-Eubank, director of the library, said that the exciting, modern new space was paid for by a 2019 millage. In 2019, Alpena County voters approved a 20-year, 0.25 mill property tax renewal to cover costs for HVAC upgrades and remodeling and operations at the library.
He said that the money was utilized in a cost-efficient way and was very well spent.
Leslie Kirchoff and Pat Garant, coordinators of the READ Adult Literacy program, say that they look forward to seeing the community once again utilize the library and all of its resources.