The current Main Library facility, located at 301 W. Congress in Lafayette, was opened to the public in January 1973. It is a 3-story, 63000 sq ft facility.The first floor boasts a 2000 sq ft meeting room, a large children's department, the circulation desk, a browsing room/exhibit area, and administrative offices.
The second floor houses the reference, adult, teen, periodical, Louisiana/genealogy, and a-v collections and a 10 workstation computer lab.
Public access computers are available on both floors. The computers access the Internet, offer various office and productivity software, access to electronic databases, and (on some) educational games for children. Wireless Internet access is also available for visitors with their own wireless-enabled laptop or PDA.
The third floor houses behind the scenes functions, such as the business office and technical services (where we order and receive books and other materials for the library system). Due to budget constraints in 1973, approximately 2/3 of the 3rd floor was left unfinished with plans to finish it out 'later'. That hasn't happened until now. In November 2002, Lafayette City/Parish voters said "Let's finish it" and update our 30 year old main library as we build new regionals.
We will be doing a complete remodel of the main library, including finishing out the 3rd floor. Space planning began in March 2006 and will continue until later this year. The architect will spend 2007 and 2008 designing and refining the plans for the renovation. Construction is currently projected to begin in 2009. Before we can begin the work at the Main Library, both the North and South Regionals will need to be open.
Stay tuned for updates!
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