The Weyburn Public Library Board will continue on with the planning for its expansion and addition which was begun last year, with the plans on the way within the next couple of months.

At the annual meeting held on Jan. 25, board members gave approval of an exterior design and a couple of design details before hearing the annual report and re-electing the board.

Last year, council approved and appointed the same architect, Okumura-McGinn, who did the design of the new Southeast Regional Library headquarters next door to the library on Bison Avenue.

The library project will add 4,400 square feet to the vacant area between the library and regional headquarters, and will remove the ramp and court yard currently in the front area of the library.

A new front will be built on and an elevator installed to make the facility accessible on both levels, plus allow a new circulation desk. The exterior design approved by the board was Option B, which will provide a complementary roof design to match that of the regional headquarters building. The design will now be sent to city council's facilities committee, and plans will be drawn up and finalized within six to eight weeks for the committee and council to see.

Asked if the project will go to tender after the plans are done, Butters replied it will depend on when city council can set its final version of this year's budget. The city has applied for an infrastructure grant for the library project, but the fate of this application won't be known until after the provincial budget is handed down.

Coun. Debra Button indicated there are other projects the council is looking at for this year as well, so no promises could be made the library project will go to tender this year.

The library board approved a proposal for a coffee machine to be installed in a new reading area, from which revenues will go to the library, and having a free-standing sign in front of the public library instead of a sign on the building itself.

Before the plans can receive final approval from council, the library board will also have to apply for an exemption from the setback regulations on the front yard, said board chair Isabelle Butters, pointing out there will be more grass area in front than there is now, despite the proposed removal of the ramp and court yard.

The board was told the fund-raising for the addition has now reached just over $30,000, with the sale of pins raising around $400 so far, said acting librarian Karen Sinclair.

An upcoming fund-raiser for the library is a tea and bake sale, to be staged on Monday, Feb. 14 at the library by the Friends of the Library and the board.

There were 472 new patrons to the library in 1999, circulation totalled 188,173 books, tapes and videos, plus there were 7,985 bookings of the library's Internet computers. The circulation number is down slightly from 1998, when the circulation reached 191,795, but this was expected to a certain extent with the heavy use of the Internet computers, said Butters. 1999 was the first full year of compiling numbers of patrons booking use of the computers.

Isabelle Butters was acclaimed back as the chairwoman for 2000, Dianne Sander is the vice-chair, Debra Button represents city council, and the board members are Ray Neville, Carolyn Andrews, Randy Bangsund and Glenn Pegg.