Schenectady's Duane branch library closes

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marc Schultz

The Schenectady County Duane Branch Library, located at 1331 State St., will close its doors on Friday, February 19, 2016.

Patrons of the Schenectady County Library Duane branch will have a new home later this month. And on Thursday, the second to last day before the branch’s permanent closure, the patrons faced the move with excitement and a twinge of nostalgia.

The Duane patrons won’t have to wait long for new digs, however, as the new Phyllis Bornt Branch Library and Literacy Center is slated to open on Feb. 29 — just under a mile closer to downtown from the Duane branch.

At the Duane branch on Thursday, kids huddled around computers while others sat at desks quietly reading. In a room in the back, a handful of kids played with toys as part of one of the branch’s youth programs. Parents sat at nearby tables and chatted.

“I feel like it is a family,” said Hassina Nabhi, who brings her kids to Duane a couple of times a week. “For me the librarians and staff are very good.”

“It’s good for the kids to socialize,” Christine Rambharose agreed.

While Nabhi, who has been visiting Duane for three years, and Rambharose, who has been frequenting the branch for five years, said they would miss the intimacy of Duane, they were also excited about the new facility, which will be larger, more widely accessible and offer increased programming.

“I like that the new library has a parking lot,” Nabhi said. “That is the most important.”

While the kids at the library also had mixed emotions about seeing their home library close, they too were excited about the move to a new and bigger building down the road.

“I’m happy for the new place, but this brings back memories,” said a 13-year-old girl who was reading at Duane on Thursday. She said she visits the branch — a short walk from her home — a few days a week.

But she was also looking forward to spending time at the new library which, while it will be a longer walk from her home, is promised to offer more space and activities for Schenectady’s budding readers.

The new library will double as a literacy center and, compared to Duane, will offer extended hours, more programming space, enhanced technology for staff and patrons, new books and more. The materials from Duane will be moved to the new branch and will be supplemented by new technology and added books and other materials.

“It’s not just a branch, it allows us to do much more programming as well,” county spokesman Joe McQueen said.

McQueen said the county also plans on using the new facility for adult programming, financial literacy classes and possibly volunteer tax-assistance programs in the future.

Beginning Monday, library staff will take over the new building at 948 State Street and race to outfit the shelves and computer kiosks in time for a Grand Opening event on Feb. 27. The public is invited to see what the new branch will offer from 1 to 4 p.m.

The library will open in full on Feb. 29, with its new hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. That’s nearly twice the hours of the Duane branch, which was closed on Sundays and Mondays and didn’t stay open past 6 p.m.