Portage Lake District Library to redesign interior in May

HOUGHTON, Mich. (WLUC) - The Portage Lake District Library (PLDL) is beginning a series of interior redesigns for the upcoming year.

They are being spread out across two different phases, the first to begin in May, and the second slated for late 2023.

“We’re bringing it up in two phases due to supply chain issues,” said PLDL Director Katrina Linde-Moriarty. “Just to make the work just a little more manageable around closures.”

The first will include mobile shelves in the children’s area for more flexible programming, fresh paint library-wide and a new teen-focused area.

There will also be a new multi-colored carpet that will depict a rough geographic outline of the Portage Canal area running through the building.

The second phase will include new furniture throughout the library, computer stations, a new circulation desk and a conference room.

Historically significant objects such as paintings and furniture in the library that cannot remain are being distributed to holders such as the Carnegie Museum.

This next phase will be made possible through fundraising.

“In the first phase, we are funding with some tax dollars that we have bulked up so that we can spend that down and show the community that utilizing the funds that have been given to us,” continued Linde-Moriarty. “But phase two we’re fundraising for, so we’re hoping to raise $200,000 before the next phase of the project.”

This fundraising is starting off with an online end-of-year giving campaign on PayPal.

Its goal is to reach $10,000 by the start of 2023.

“We know that a lot of people are looking for local opportunities to give back and have a tax-deductible donation,” added Linde-Moriarty. “So, we wanted to provide a unique opportunity to give back and have that seen in the new year. This is an ongoing project, and we’re always looking for bog partners as well.”

For more information and a link to the donation page, check out the PLDL’s project page by clicking here.