The Main Library of the Central Arkansas Library System closed to the public today for extensive renovations that will keep the downtown Little Rock branch closed until sometime around mid-2025.
The planned overhaul is expected to cost approximately $20 million. CDI Contractors will carry out the construction work under the supervision of a team of architects.
Joe Hudak, the head of the Main Library, in an interview on Thursday said that patrons will have more ways to interact with technology in the renovated branch. He predicted that “it’ll be a lot better fit for the way that people use libraries in the 21st century.”
New features might include a so-called “makerspace” for teens, some kind of cafe and retail space and expanded areas for technology instruction and digital content creation, according to Hudak.
Lance Ivy, the library system’s outgoing director of facilities and…
