By the numbers: new Clovis Regional Library

Fresno County Librarian Laurel Prysiazny has spent a lot of time crunching numbers.

Clovis is expected to break ground next year on the new Clovis Regional Library, which, at 30,000 square feet, will dwarf the current 8,600-square-foot current Clovis Regional Library.

“The size will be about equal to the Woodward Park Library plus the current Clovis library put together,” Prysiazny said.

The branch, which will feature open beam construction and a railway theme, will cost approximately $12 million to build and furnish.

“Our theme is honoring our past and embracing our future,” she said. “(The location is) the nexus of where the railroad and the logging industry was created. We’re going to make sure the architecture reflects the past.”

The library will contain meeting spaces and conference rooms, which are not available in the current Clovis branch.

Alongside it, a $2 million transportation hub will be built, in addition to a $6 million new senior activity center, city officials said. The new facilities, at Clovis Avenue and 3rd Street, will be called Landmark Commons, Prysiazny said.

Measure B funds will cover $8 million of that $12 million price tag, Prysiazny said, so $4 million will need to be raised by the public to complete the project.

The librarian provided this by-the-numbers breakdown:

▪  $1 million for bookshelves with pull-out shelves

▪  $500,000 for additional materials, including books, DVDs, CDs, magazines and more

▪  $400,000 for reading tables and chairs

▪ $350,000 for service desks — one central service desk near the entrance to the library and one in the children’s department

▪  $400,000 for lounge seating

▪  $50,000 for exhibit cases that will display topical items, awards and historical artifacts

▪  $300,000 for public use technology, including computers, printers, copiers and children’s workstations. There are currently six computers in the Clovis Regional Library for patron use; the new library will house 30.

▪  $200,000 for children’s furniture

▪  $200,000 for teen furniture

▪  $150,000 for public art, including statues

▪  $5,000 for teen collaborative seating and mini learning studios

Quality is important when purchasing furniture that will be used by thousands of people over several years.

“If you don’t buy the right stuff, you get what you pay for,” Prysiazny said. “This is not an area we want to scrimp on.”

About five or six additional staff members will be hired to serve the larger library.

Fundraising kicked off on Oct. 1, and so far several members of the public and local nonprofit organizations have answered the call, pledging $300,000 in funds.

Donations have come from:

▪  Clovis Chapter of the Friends of the Library: $200,000

▪  First Five Fresno County (sensory garden and a lactation room): $45,000

▪  Jim and Carole Maxwell: $20,000

▪  Anonymous bequest: $15,000

▪  Supervisor Debbie Poochigian (flagpole): $2,500

▪  Clovis Unified Superintendent Janet Young (bench): $1,500

▪  Miscellaneous donations: $10,000

An online catalog will soon be available for members of the public to purchase items for the library, Prysiazny said.

Donations to the campaign are a way to honor and remember special people in one’s life, as naming opportunities and honor wall recognition is available, Prysiazny explained.

Construction on the new library is expected to begin next fall, with completion in late 2018 or early 2019, Prysiazny said.

This story was originally published November 7, 2016 at 2:09 PM with the headline "By the numbers: new Clovis Regional Library."