FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:    Heather O’Connell, Public Information Coordinator
                    (941) 479-4629 Office
                    (941) 479-4631 Fax

The Cape Coral- Lee County Public Library will remain closed until Monday, February 4, as construction teams complete the first phase of our expansion project. The library was scheduled to be closed from December 1, 2001, to January 14, 2002, for this phase of the construction.

Operationally, the library is ready to go. All materials and computers are in place and ready for the public, however, some minor construction issues still need to be resolved before the building will be fully ready for city approval.

In the meantime, patrons who checked out books and other materials from the Cape Coral- Lee County Public Library before December 1, will not need to return them until after February 4. The library’s bookdrops will remain open for those patrons who would like to return them earlier. Materials can also be returned at any other Lee County Library System location.

Patrons who placed holds on materials at the Cape Coral- Lee County Public Library before December 1, will continue to receive those items in the mail, as soon as they become available.

The Cape Coral - Lee County Public Library is one of the busiest locations in Lee County, with as many as 42,000 visitors a month and an expanded collection of more than 150,000 books, CDs, videos, DVDs and other materials.

When the second phase of the expansion project is completed this summer, the library will double in size to over 40,000 square feet. The completed library will house more than 60 computers, an art gallery and a quiet reading area.

The media is invited to a special "sneak peak" at the phase one expansion, Friday, February 1. The county’s Project Manager for the expansion and the Library Director will be available at that time for questions. Please call the number above for more information.