Elevator repair comes to local library
Learn which rooms — and coffee options — are available and where
You are reading a FREE version of the Dispatch. Much of our content goes behind the paywall on Monday, July 21. Take an annual subscription by THIS SUNDAY June 20 and receive a FREE 13th month! Thank you for reading.
The Saratoga Springs Public Library at 49 Henry St. downtown is without an elevator until mid-November, and the library staff says it’s basically a good thing. The 30-year-old elevator is being replaced by a more efficient elevator that — the staff believes — won’t break down as much.
“It served us well,” said the library’s Executive Director Isaac Pulver, referring to the old elevator, though the elevator has been breaking down too frequently (it even broke down the day before construction was to begin).
In an interview with the Dispatch, he admitted that “it’s sort of disruptive to our whole process” both for patrons and staff, but still thought, “so far, so good.”
The $600,000 upgrade started earlier this month. Plank Construction Services of Schenectady is handling the job.
Pulver explained that the motors and electrical systems that run the elevator are being changed along with the elevator car and other components. He said Plank Construction must remove almost everything and prepare the old shaft for the new elevator.
Until the new elevator is installed, there will be no elevator access to the library’s lower level or second floor. The stairs are still available for those who are able to use them, and staff is ready to help bring materials or conduct services normally found on other floors if patrons cannot take the stairs, an announcement on the library’s website says.
“We have rearranged and/or added services and collections on the First Floor, including making public computers and printing available, relocated daily newspapers and large print materials, and scheduled more programs in First Floor spaces,” the library’s announcement says. Priority for first-floor computing and seating will be for those with mobility challenges.
Other changes during construction:
The H. Dutcher Community Room will be unavailable for public booking.
The Susman and Glasby Rooms, on the lower level, will be available for booking, but access to them is by the stairs only.
The Friends Coffee Shop has suspended most operations.
Coffee is still available for a suggested donation, in the “Coffee Nook” outside the Friends Book Shop on the main floor of the library beginning about 9 a.m., while supplies last.
(Thus far, they have put out pump pots of flavored and regular coffee.)
The library’s 2025-2026 budget of $5.4 million was approved by voters in the spring.
