McAlester library director reports progress on renovation, summer programs and temporary operations

Heath Stanfield, manager of the McAlester Public Library, told the McAlester City Council that interior demolition is complete and the renovation is “ahead of schedule,” with an expected finish in the May–June timeframe. Stanfield said the project preserved the existing structure and estimated that rebuilding from scratch would cost about $32 million, making the current renovation a “phenomenal investment.”

The update emphasized continued library services at a temporary location at Edmondo Elementary School. Stanfield said the library served roughly 3,000 visitors in May and circulated 3,761 items that month (about 1,900 to adults and 1,800 to children). He said the library served about 400 lunches to children last month through a summer meals partnership with the school system and other donors.

Stanfield also listed public-program and technology use: 39 interlibrary loans outbound, 39 public programs in May attended by 149 children and total program attendance of 204; library public computers recorded 564 sessions in May; staff logged 258 unique Wi‑Fi logins. He said one meeting room at the temporary site had 51 private bookings in May and that the renovated building’s main meeting room will hold about 160 people.

Lindsey Alexander, vice chair of the Library Advisory Board, invited any council members who missed the site tour to schedule a visit. Stanfield and advisory board members said the renovation team retained much of the building’s concrete structure and that the project team is storing materials on the library floor to reduce inflation-related cost risk.

Stanfield outlined fundraising gaps remaining after the core project budget was set: naming-rights opportunities (including the large meeting room), a proposed endowment for future maintenance, and discretionary items such as children’s playground equipment. He said the construction team will reserve space for playground equipment so it can be added later if funds are raised. He thanked the City of McAlester, the Peterborough Foundation, the Fugate Foundation and private donors and emphasized there were no federal dollars in the renovation funding.

Council members praised the library’s services and programs; one councilor made an on-the-spot donation. Stanfield described a range of services offered free with a library card — notary, tax forms and assistance, resume help, digital training platforms and a DigiLab for digitizing records — and encouraged continued community use.

The advisory board will continue fundraising campaigns (bricks and naming rights) and offered tours of the construction site by appointment.