The approved building expansion at the Plainview Old Bethpage Library has been delayed and library personnel are waiting to receive approval from the State Educational Building Department to begin construction.

The library is an education building, since it is part of the school district, and all final construction plans must be approved by the State Educational Building Department. According to Rhoda Orenstein, educational buildings in the Ground Zero area have priority for approval, moving the Plainview Old Bethpage Library's application back.

"We are waiting for approval and the State Educational Department is backlogged now because they have other school districts around the Ground Zero area," said Orenstein. "They have priority over us. Any education buildings around the Ground Zero area needed their immediate attention and everyone else was put on the back burner. We can get started once we get approval."

The library expansion consists of two additions - the family center will be expanded and a lecture/program facility will be added to the east side of the building.

The expansion will double the size of the existing family center, which will be expanded to 25 feet to the west with a mezzanine. Also, more computers will be available for residents to access databases that are not available from homes and are needed for school assignments. Bookshelves are needed for special collections that are currently stored in the basement and not readily available to the public and those bookshelves will be added. Additional shelf space is also needed for Family Sharing books on timely topics such as divorce, drugs and death. The new mezzanine will give the library more room for books. Computers will also be added giving the children six computers and another computer room for research.

The new lecture program facility will have 240 permanent seats, a stage, two conference rooms for meetings and a gallery for exhibits. This new addition will allow the library to present more programs for adults and children as requested by the community. The new expansion provides additional meeting room space for local groups.

The library architect is in the process of preparing bids for construction so once approval is given, a groundbreaking will be held. Also, different types of materials and specific equipment needed in designated areas are currently being looked at. There is a lot of planning going on now such as choosing colors and office furniture.

Construction should begin, if everything goes according to plan, at the end of the summer and take approximately a year to a year and a half to complete.