Almost 16 months to the day a backhoe excavated the first bucketful of earth from the vacant lot at 3541 Park Ave. in Brookfield, the general public will be able to walk through the doors of the new Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library.
While a formal, celebratory ribbon cutting and grand opening is planned for Saturday, July 31, the new library officially will welcome patrons back on Monday, July 26 at 10 a.m.
Library staff have been moving the collection over and setting up the new spaces since June 14, but as next week’s grand opening-related events approach, things are falling into place, according to Library Director Kimberly Coughran.
“It’s gone exceptionally well,” Coughran said of the move from the old library across the street at 3609 Grand Blvd. “It takes a long time to move a library. It’s been grueling and tiring, but what a…