By Wesley Harris
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
ABINGDON — The Abingdon Library closed March 3 for a construction project that was long overdue.
This large-scale renovation will take until August to complete, but what’s baffling to many is why a branch that was opened for only 15 years needs $1.2 million worth of attention so soon.
Poor window installation lead to chronic leaking, said Rebecca Lloyd. She’s been a children’s librarian at the Abingdon Library for 12 years.
“I’ve had to stop story time because the carpet was so wet,” Lloyd said. “I’m so happy it’s getting resolved.”
The company contracted to install the windows had done it improperly and then went out of business, leaving the branch no remedy. After years of repairs, library executives eventually resolved to simply replace the leaking windows and sections of roof.
State grants of approximately $500,000 were secured this year, and the subsequent closing and construction were swift. Library staff took to packing up the inventory that numbered well over 100,000 items.
“We were still boxing up the books when they started busting out the windows,” Lloyd said. “It was very fast.”
With 35,328 active cardholders, the Abingdon Branch makes up approximately 18 percent of Harford County Public Library’s borrowers, according to the library’s 2018 annual report. Combined with the even bigger facility in Bel Air, these branches make up nearly half of Harford County’s library customers.
Where Abingdon Library exceeds is in program attendance, with attendees outnumbering other branches by 20 percent. It was at one of these programs, a home buying workshop, that Megan Bickel heard about the closing.
Bickel is an Abingdon resident and Baltimore County Elementary school teacher. She frequently uses the Abingdon branch to check out picture books and chapter books to read aloud to her class. The library is close by and has a broader collection than what is at her school’s library. She’s struggled with what to do during the interim.
“The Bel Air branch is considerably farther from my house and much less convenient with its placement in the town of Bel Air,” Bickel said. “I will probably make the hike over there. I’ve also considered trying to go to a branch in Baltimore County.
Edgewood, Bel Air and Fallston Library are the closest branches to the Abingdon Library. Each of these locations have added additional programs and events to accommodate the potential, and the Edgewood Library has even extended its drive through hours to ease the transition.
All of the staff normally assigned to Abingdon have been reassigned to one of the other branch locations for the duration of the project, said Leslie Smith, the Marketing and Communications Administrator for Harford County Public Library.
“It is a great opportunity for all staff to work with newly assigned staff and gain experience working in a new community and branch,” Smith said. “It is also a great opportunity to share best practices.”
Lorrie Rodgers is one the Abingdon staff members assigned to work at the Bel Air branch in the meantime. There has been a significant influx of customers, Rodgers said. The already tiny parking lot shows signs of this mass migration, packed with cars. Inside people are bustling about briskly.
“It takes four to six months to adjust to a new workplace,” Rodgers said. “By the time we do, we’re going back.”
The return might require some adjustment too, as the update to Abingdon includes the window repairs, roof replacement, new carpeting, paint, the reference desk moving, and some other potential surprises.
Harford County Public Library officials have done their best to get the word out, with a Facebook campaign highlighting different features and qualities of the surrounding branches. Their hope is that the time will give opportunity for the community to familiarize itself with all that HCPL has to offer.
A trip to the Bel Air branch might give Abingdon regulars a nice change of scenery. Lloyd offered a tour of the children pre-school through middle school SteamWorks and Early Literacy center. The Innovation Lab, with tablets for coding and 3D printer that would have newcomers “wowed.”
“Harford County Public Library is one house, and the branches are like different rooms,” Lloyd said. “We’re hoping people will check out rooms they’ve never been in before.”