The Norman Transcript

Headlines

Related Photos

  • The Norman Public Library now has a new heating and cooling system. Upcoming library improvement projects include a new lighting system and new flooring. Transcript photo/Joy Hampton

    Norman Library Upgrades

Discussion

October 4, 2012

Library upgrades under way

By Joy Hampton The Norman Transcript

NORMAN — Patrons of Norman Public Library’s main branch, 225 N. Webster Ave., can appreciate the new heating and cooling system in place. Gone are the days of freezing cold and smothering hot temperatures resulting from the old, faulty system.

“The HVAC took a lot longer than we anticipated,” Norman City Clerk Brenda Hall said. “It is a very complex system.”

That $1.2 million project was paid out of the city’s capital budget and is now complete. While the Pioneer Library System pays for staff, books and other elements of the collection such as CDs, DVDs and a virtual library, the city provides the facility and pays for maintenance and upkeep.

Next on the list of improvements to be made is the replacement of the 818 light fixtures in the library.

“We spend 10 to 20 hours a month replacing bulbs over there,” Hall said. “Every fixture will be removed and replaced. They have T-12 bulbs that are being phased out. They will be replace with fixtures using T-8 lamps.”

In addition, all of the relays and switches for the lighting system are being replaced. Hall said a request for bids went out last week. Those will be opened Oct. 18, and the Norman City Council will likely award a contract for the lighting job at the Nov. 13 meeting.

“That’s the soonest we can get it on,” Hall said.

The library will remain open the entire time, which will slow the work down a little but will allow patrons to continue library usage without interruption. After the lighting is replaced, new flooring will replace the old, stained carpet.

“The flooring is the last thing we want to do because we don’t want them in there doing those other projects on top of new flooring,” Hall said.

The flooring will be paid for by a $280,000 bond. The library also received a new $750,000 roof in 2010 as a capital budget project.

Hall said the city had hoped to have the lighting replaced by the end of the summer, but the complexity of the HVAC project caused it to string out longer than anticipated.

She said library patrons can expect new lighting in the coming spring. In the meantime, the city will continue to replace bulbs. Some temporary lighting was added in one section to improve that area for patrons until the replacement project is complete.

Joy Hampton366-3539jhampton@normantranscript.com

 

For local news and more, subscribe to The Norman Transcript Smart Edition, or our print edition.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Headlines
  • Oklahoma Tornado Expert: Schools need shelters

    Ninety-four percent of Oklahoma schools do not have tornado shelters, according to Gov. Mary Fallin, even though at least one weather expert says they should be standard. With two Moore schools destroyed in Monday’s EF-5 tornado — and ...

    May 24, 2013 1 Photo

  • Family shelter saves 11 lives

    MOORE — Ronnie and Sally Horn built their retirement home 15 years ago. It was a vision of comfort set against a wooded background. The yard was well manicured. The picket fence was white. The pond out back was as clear as any in Oklahoma. ...

    May 24, 2013

  • OU ready to keep victims all summer

    Juan Flores moved into the Walker Center dormitory Wednesday at the University of Oklahoma. He was shown to his new room, pre-furnished with a bed, desk and closet. He spent his first evening watching football on one of the communal TVs in ...

    May 24, 2013

  • Tornado took town’s youngest as it swept through Moore

    MOORE — One loved the spotlight. Another was nicknamed “The Wall” because of the force he brought to the soccer field. When a top-of-the-scale EF-5 tornado ripped through Moore, it took with it 24 lives. Seven of them were children at ...

    May 24, 2013

  • Sharing stories of survival

    MOORE — As Monday’s EF-5 tornado moved closer to Plaza Towers Elementary School, teacher Justin Ayers knew they were in its path. Ayers said all of the teachers at the site likely knew what was coming from television reports and they had ...

    May 25, 2013

  • Moore open for business

    Until an EF-5 tornado carved a path through the economic core of Moore on Monday, sales tax generated more than $2 million each month. In addition to damages, closed roads and utility outages forced many businesses to shut their doors. ...

    May 25, 2013

  • 5-year-old girl finds silver lining

    A twist of fate and the discovery of a cochlear implant from a Moore hospital damaged by Monday’s EF-5 tornado are part of the story of a precious 5-year-old girl. In December, Jayde Scholl was adopted by Tulsa audiologist Jacque Scholl. ...

    May 25, 2013

  • Remembering the victims

    Editor’s note: Profiles for tornado victims will be published as they are received. In addition to the Moore tornado victims, there were also two victims from the Sunday, May 18 tornado that touched down in eastern Cleveland County and ...

    May 25, 2013

  • Disaster central

    WASHINGTON — Many states get hit frequently with tornadoes and other natural catastrophes, but Oklahoma is Disaster Central. The twister that devastated Moore was the 74th presidential disaster declared in the Sooner state in the past 60 ...

    May 25, 2013

  • Okla. legislature adjourned early

    OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma lawmakers adjourned the 2013 Legislature on Friday one week earlier than required, wrapping up a session that saw Gov. Mary Fallin advance her agenda to reduce taxes and overhaul the state workers’ compensation ...

    May 25, 2013