Progress on road work clears the way for the Bookmobile to return downtown

The Rochester Public Library is turning the page on a period of road construction that disrupted some of its services.

On Tuesday, the library reopened its book drop-off along 1st Avenue Southeast. It had been using use a temporary drop-off location.

Earlier in the week, the library also welcomed back its Bookmobile. The vehicle — which carries thousands of books, videos and other media — had been stationed elsewhere for the previous two and a half months.

Both developments should come as welcome news for library staff and visitors; though, according to the library, visits to the downtown building actually remained steady in June — even with the construction.

“The number of visitors to RPL were in line with our numbers from last year,” said Karen Lemke, the library’s communications director. “So, even though there's extra activity downtown, people are still finding their way down (perhaps for the free, close-up show of the bulldozers and diggers?).”

If you plan to make a visit in the near future, you will still encounter some orange cones outside. The work is being done to expand sewer lines.

Cover photo courtesy Rochester Public Library