Ames Public Library youth volunteers smiled while holding the doors open and greeted the public back into the remodeled library on September 14th.

The library was filled with staff scattered around the building looking eagerly to answer questions, volunteers handing out fliers, magicians entertaining the children, kids running  around with balloon animals, live music, and even Symles the dog made an appearance.

The community quickly flocked to the building and explored the new space.

Tim Gossett and family were among the many to check out the renovated building.

“It was time to restock our stash (of children’s books),” Gossett said. Looking around at all of the families, he smiled as he noted all of the parents doing the same.

“It’s hard to believe we didn’t find our missing puppet during the time that the library was closed,” said Gossett.

Meanwhile, tons of children and young adults were giddily climbing around a bright green room, trying out every new nook and cranny. The new children’s area takes up a majority of the main floor, as the new space was designed to not only be modern, but to hold many more books.

“Last year over 1.3 million items were checked out of the Ames Public Library,” said Jillian Ocken, the library’s community relations specialist. “The Ames Public Library had outgrown its building.”

The Renewal Project had the library housed at a warehouse a half mile away, but the community was relieved when the original location re-opened again.

“Over 4,300 people came into the library opening day,” Ocken noted.“Our library staff is excited and exhausted.”

There are some new features that the library has to check out, for example, the Media Box. The Media Box is an automatic vending machine where you can check out video games, movies, and popular music. This gives people access to new things that would typically be checked out for a long time.

Also, laptops and tablets will be available for use along with other new technology in the meeting rooms and study spaces.

The new building has completely transformed into a modern space available for study, work, and play.

Senior Olivia Sauer notes on the architecture.“I really like the interior,” she said. “The exterior is really different from it’s surroundings. Overall, the new library is fantastic.”