The Goodnight Memorial Library in Franklin is beginning a $6 million renovation this month. The library in Simpson County was built in 1936 as a project of the Works Progress Administration and renovated in 1976. The current renovation will restore some of the original 1936 style of the library.
Library director Audrey Phillips says the move to temporary space is a major effort.
“We have over 40,000 items that are going to have to be moved. We have tried to weed some down, we’re only taking with us what we need, what we want on the shelf.”
The library will be closed the week of Sept. 17 for the move and will open in a temporary location at 121 Brown Road on Monday, Sept. 24th.
The project will increase library space for books from the current 6,000 square feet to about 10,000 square feet.
Phillips says project includes the complete renovation of the library’s Goodnight Auditorium, which is the only performance venue in Franklin, so it’s in use much of the year for shows and events. The auditorium will have a new stage, seats, floors and additional space for dressing rooms.
The renovation will bring back some of the classic style of the 1936 building.
"So the plan is to go up a floor, put the big windows back in the front, put the main entrance back on the front of the building and then have a nice wonderful staircase on the inside that goes up to what was the original entrance of the structure before the addition was put on,” said Phillips.
The renovation project is expected to take 12 to 15 months.
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