If you visit the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library downtown, you’re going to notice some changes.

KHCPL Main will begin a renovation project on Monday, Aug. 3.

“We continuously evaluate how we can best serve Kokomo and Howard County,” said KHCPL Director of Marketing Lisa Fipps. “To implement our mission fully, we knew we needed to focus more on programs and partnerships not only at our facilities but also out in the community. To do that, we needed to free up staff. We can do that by making some renovations at KHCPL Main, which is why we are merging two service points.”

We’re also increasing the use of self-checkout. “We began working on installing the technology to allow us to be able to provide updated self-service checkout even before COVID,” Fipps said. “But COVID makes it even more important to offer an option to decrease face-to-face interaction just to quickly check out a book or movie.”

Fipps emphasized that staff is still available and happy to help with reading recommendations, finding materials, and more. “The more people use self-checkout, the more staff we have for one-on-one interactions,” she said.

KHCPL thanks patrons in advance for excusing the mess and their patience. The renovation project should be complete within six to eight weeks.