It’s a scene that couldn’t be any less fitting for a library: noise and debris.
Pieces of white drywall cover the cardboard taped to the floor.
The exterior doors are mummified in duct tape. Burly construction workers bustle in and out of a restricted area.
The commotion surrounds the conversion of the Harmony Library’s restrooms to one that is all-gender and accessible to people with disabilities.
Senior librarian Laura Puls said that the construction is scheduled to last until May 2025, but it may be finished as early as March.
The project originally was limited to repairs in the men’s room, she said. However, staff at FRCC and Poudre Libraries saw “the opportunity to think about how our spaces at Harmony Library are serving our customers.”
Reportedly, the wall between the women’s and men’s rooms has already been knocked down.
Post-renovation, said Puls, what was previously two restrooms will have a single open entrance and stall doors that are nearly floor-to-ceiling.
In the meantime, students and library visitors can use the temporary bathrooms in the white trailer to the north of the library’s east entrance.
Despite all of the commotion, the coffee kiosk in the library lobby is operating as normal. Sam Wilder, who works there four days a week as the barista, is as chipper as ever.
Wilder credited the construction crew with courtesy. He said it has been doing its noisiest work in the early morning when there aren’t many people there.
Workers “came and got coffee. Super nice guys,” he said. “They totally understand that they’re in peoples’ space.”
He said that the construction hasn’t impacted the kiosk’s business much. “It seems like people are very happy that we are still open,” he said.
