During remodel library will still offer services

Last updated 12/6/2022 at Noon

Sisters Library will soon be under construction, in a major remodeling project that is expected to last through August.

Local patrons will still be able to order books and pick up holds, and access other services at the library’s temporary facility.

“Basically, it’s a trailer,” said Lynne Mildenstein, Deschutes Public Library’s (DPL) assistant director of operations. “It’s going to sit on the corner of Cedar [Street] and Main [Avenue].”

The trailer is 24-by-40 feet, offering 960 square feet of space. It will hold new book titles, and “Hot Reads.” According to Mildenstein, “printing, faxing, scanning services will still be available and we’ll still have some limited public PC services as well.”

Sisters Library will host a drop-in open house where people can learn more about the plans on Friday, December 16, from 10 a.m. to noon, and 4 to 5:30 p.m.

The trailer will arrive on December 14, and it’s expected to take a couple of days to get it ready. The trailer is expected to be ready to roll when the library closes for remodeling.

“We’re shooting for January 3,” Mildenstein said. “We’re trying to make it as seamless as possible so that there won’t be any stoppage of services.”

It is possible that the library will be closed for a day or two during the transition, Mildenstein noted.

The temporary facility will operate on Sisters Library’s regular hours.

According to DPL, “the location’s planned renovation will create bright and open spaces that welcome the community with amenities such as flexible meeting and tutoring rooms, an enhanced children’s discovery space, a cozy fireplace and reading area, and a large community gathering space.”

Mildenstein said that the project is expected to be completed relatively quickly.

“We hope to be back in the Sisters building in its new condition in late summer/early fall,” she said. “Assuming everything goes well, it could be as early as late August.”

Voters in 2020 approved $195 million in bond funding for a variety of projects in DPL’s jurisdiction, and the Sisters Library remodel is among those projects.

Sisters Library is located at 110 N. Cedar St. in Sisters.

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Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.