MARION — The new Marion Public Library, which was last aimed to be open around the Fourth of July, is now looking at a September grand opening.
Library Director Bill Carroll said the delay comes midst continued supply-chain issues and contractor worker shortages that have been seen around the country since the COVID-19 pandemic began two years ago.
“We’re looking at the grand opening sometime shortly after Labor Day,” Carroll told The Gazette on Tuesday. “The library board has not set a definitive date, but they are expected to do that at their July meeting.”
The new, two-floor building is located in the 1100 block of Sixth Avenue, across the street from the old library, which had been its location since 1996.
In that time, Marion has doubled its population since the original 24,500-square-foot library was built. The new building will be almost twice as big and feature a demonstration kitchen, a recording studio, a “green screen” room and gaming spaces.
The new facility broke ground in October 2020. The old library building was damaged in the August 2020 derecho and never reopened.
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