Smithtown main library to reopen Wednesday
The main reading room of the Smithtown library. (Aug. 8, 2012) Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
More than a year after it closed for an extensive renovation and expansion, Smithtown’s historic main library branch is set to reopen Wednesday morning.
The 28,000-square-foot library on North Country Road — a portion of which was built in 1912 — will open to the public at 10 a.m., library officials said.
“We’re really excited about all this, and we’re finally getting it done,” said Joseph Vallone, president of the Smithtown Special Library District’s board of trustees.
The revamped building includes 6,000 square feet of new space, including a 3,000-square-foot children’s room, a community room and renovated space for an archive of historic documents. The library has a modernized boiler room, improved temperature controls, energy-efficient lighting, a new elevator and digital checkout kiosks.
The project was part of a $21 million initiative approved by voters in 2008 to renovate three of the library district’s branches and replace its Nesconset branch. The Commack and Nesconset branches reopened last year.
Vallone said the Kings Park branch — closed last year for renovations, including construction of a 3,000-square-foot addition — would reopen “maybe within the next week or so.” Smithtown Town officials were expected to inspect the building this week, he said.
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'Let somebody else have a chance' Hundreds of Long Island educators are double dipping, a term used to describe collecting both a salary and a pension. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn and Newsday investigative reporter Jim Baumbach report.
