By Stephanie Faudoa

Contributing Writer

PORTAGE COUNTY – The Portage County Library is looking to make renovations to the Almond branch in order to create better access for the community members who use it.

Portage County Library Director Larry Oathout said that the project has been in discussions for a while.

“We have talked about this project on and off for several years, and the idea of how to use a very small space at Almond and utilize that,” he said.

“One of the things that we looked at as a possibility, there are still lots of questions to it, but could we or would the village allow an entry door between the library side of village hall and the village side of village hall?

“That would allow us to when things got busy or people wanted to get away, we could open that door, and they could go to the other side of village hall and read the newspaper or use a laptop; we would have better access to groups that we use there.

“A lot of the programs that we do are done on the village side, and this would allow us to then walk through that door which would be much more convenient for us.

Oathout said that there has been no final decision for the renovations to be put in place.

 “Our board voted on Wednesday night not ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ to the project, but just yes to looking at the options and what we would need to make it work,” Oathout stated.

 When it comes to the cost of these renovations, Oathout adds, “I have no idea, we haven’t really costed out yet, and first we want to make sure it is feasible. Then we would get to the cost and find out what that might be.”

Right now, there is no definite decision on if or when this renovation will occur, although the hope is for this space to be used more efficiently.

 “We are always looking for ways to utilize space better, and this is one of the things that has popped up over the years that could be a possibility,” Oathout said.