Dover, Ohio (WJER) - The Dover Public Library is getting set for its big reveal. 

Director Jim Gill says the library will have a grand reopening and open house from 1 to 4 pm this Sunday to show off the half-million dollars in renovations that have been disrupting services since the summer. 

“We’re excited about the fact that we were able to be open as much as we were these last four months. I know it required some patience from the public and the staff and everybody who’s used to using the library, and we’re grateful for that understanding,” he said.

Much of the building has been closed off the past two weeks to wrap up the remodel. Gill says what patrons will notice Sunday is a fresh library.

“Paint, furniture, a different feel to it. I like it because it has elements of traditional libraries. We’ll have a fireplace and custom woodwork and things like that,” he says.

Gill says visitors will also see a new adult department, more teen space and technology upgrades. He says this vision has been years in the making.

“When you look back on it, it all began in 2014 with an idea, and then it became something more concrete, and then a plan, and then fundraising, and then work, and here we are,” he says. 

The library reached its $500,000 capital campaign goal this week, as marked by the thermometer chart that’s been out in front of the building.        

“A lot of donors made this happen. We’re pushing 300-plus donors, I think,” he says. “Lots of money has been raised through grassroots means, and that was what was so special about this. Our everyday patrons made this happen.”    

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