Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront library will close Saturday for five months
The resort area’s only public library will shutter its doors Saturday for five months while it undergoes a renovation project that was pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re sad we’re closing, but we’re very happy about how it’s going to be transformed,” said Cynthia Hart, manager of the Oceanfront Area Library, 700 Virginia Beach Blvd.
Summer is the busiest time of year at the library, with as many as 13,000 people visiting it in the summer months. The building will close at 5 p.m. on Saturday. After that, Oceanfront library users can reserve books from any of the city’s libraries and pick them up at Great Neck Area Library.
Virginia Beach has dedicated $5.8 million to renovate eight of the city’s 10 libraries. The Oceanfront building is 17 years old and needs upgrades, Hart said.
New lighting will be added outside, and the “old and cranky” front doors will be replaced. Bright elements will be added to the interior.
“It’s going to mimic the ocean and the environment in the Old Beach area and the ViBe (Creative District),” Hart said.
The flooring will resemble an old-fashioned wooden boardwalk and the color scheme will be blue, green and orange, she said.
Improvements to the restrooms, the children and teen areas and the meeting room also are planned.
“The study rooms will have more of that 21st century vibe,” Hart said.
They will feature large white boards, a computer and seating for up to eight people that can be reserved for presentations or tutoring. New computer workstations in the common area will also be added.
Though the library will be closed this summer, the staff’s community outreach efforts will continue, including parent and preschool programs in Atlantis Apartments and Friendship Village.
The library also has a new project that will continue during the closure: “Connection kits,” which are backpacks containing hygiene items, a reusable water bottle and resource materials for at-risk and homeless people, will be distributed through community partners in the resort area.
Virginia Beach has maintained a library at the Oceanfront for more than 100 years, according to reports. The first was a collection of books housed in the Old Coast Guard Station in 1905. The original Oceanfront library opened in 1957 on 22nd Street in what is known as the old telephone company building. The library was moved in 1978 to a building on 18th Street and Arctic Avenue.
The current Oceanfront Area Library was built in 2004.
“I’m going to miss my customers terribly, but I’m excited about the building and what we’re going to be able to offer them in the future,” Hart said.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
