Although the construction didn’t always go smoothly, the Flin Flon Public Library has new flooring underfoot.
The public got a first look at the new flooring Dec. 2. The closure started Oct. 15 and staff hoped to be open by Nov. 15, but delays in supplies made that goal impossible to reach.
Library administrator Courtney Campbell said the community was eager for the library to get back to business.
“I know that they missed us a lot,” she said.
“We would have people still trying to pull on the door, calling or messaging us on Facebook. What are you going to do? There was a two week delay and it was necessary to get everything back.”
The new floors weren’t the only renovations done, as Campbell said the library took advantage of the closure to do some organizing and curating. The new floors are a combination of vinyl tiles and grey hardwood.
“It's brighter, but we also did a couple of things on our end,” she said.
“We cleaned up the ceilings, we cleaned all the shelves, we moved the shelves, we spaced about so they're more accessible for people and there’s a little bit more space in between all of them. Honestly, with that carpet being gone, it brightens up the space a lot.”
Campbell said the library relied on volunteers to get the work done. The last time the library closed for renovations, all their inventory was moved out and the closure was over two months.
“It was not possible without some really important volunteer help,” she said.
“We had a lot of volunteers. Our patrons and just people in the community... There is support from the city and other community members and other businesses that helped us get it done and it would have been impossible without them.”
Campbell is winding down her time in Flin Flon and will be stepping out of the library administrator role and moving to Alberta. The City of Flin Flon is looking for a replacement, but in the interim, Cindy McLean will move back into the role.
