The library ceased operations on Saturday, Sept. 3 and will remain closed until Monday, Sept. 12, so that a fresh paint job could be administered to the entire building, as well as other aesthetic improvements and repairs.
"The entire building is going to be painted, and it was much needed," said the library's executive director Phillip Greco. "The painting had been in the works for a while. We just had to find the best time that strategically fit our patrons. Since there's a holiday weekend and school is just starting, we felt that this was a good time to get the work done."
In addition to the paint job, the library's front area will be changed from carpeting to tile. The township will cut down on the cost of that transformation by using current township employees to do the work, not general contractors.
The children's area will also get an upgrade, changing the existing carpeting with one that will have carpet patches that can be removed and cleaned in case of a spill.
There will also be an upgrade to the children's computer center, with carols that are more children friendly, giving the youngsters easier access to use the computers.
There will also be minor improvements made to the library's heating and air conditioning systems.
'A good time' for repairs Greco said that most of the library's patrons use the Labor Day weekend and the first week of September as a vacation period as well.
"People are out getting their last blast of summer," Greco said. "It's a good time for us to close and get the work done."
Greco said that it was better to close the facility, rather than to have the painting done with the building remaining open.
"If we close the whole building, we can get it all done at once," Greco said. "If you count the weekend, we're really only closing for four full days, so it's not that bad. We do regret the fact that we have to close and we are sorry for any inconvenience this might have caused to our patrons, but it is necessary to close at this time to get the needed work done."
Greco said that even though the library opened in 1998 with its $2.5 renovation project, a sprucing up was much needed.
"We had plain white walls and with all the children that come into the library, we had fingerprints all over the walls," Greco said. "It was time we had to do something."
The funding for the restoration project will come from a grant, so the improvements will not come at any expense to the taxpayers and were not part of the library's annual budget. A grant from the state Department of Community Affairs enabled the improvements to be done.
The state grant will allow for aesthetic improvements such as this, so it was vital for Greco and his staff to take advantage of the available funding.
Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner applauded the move, even if it meant closing the library for a week. "We had to do it this way, because a lot of people get bothered by the fumes of the paint, or the fumes from the glue when doing the new tiles," Turner said.
Greco said that the new walls will be more "learning friendly" in colors.
"We wanted to dress it up with colors, instead of being all white," Greco said. "It's more conducive for reading with soft colors."
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