Library Authority gives update on Colonial Heights restoration, 2025 building projects and reopening timeline

Deputy Director Keller told the Sacramento Public Library Authority Board on Oct. 23 that restoration and outfitting work across the system remains on an accelerated track but continues to face supply and vendor delays.

Keller said Colonial Heights was declared a loss after the July 26, 2024 fire that was contained to the community room but caused smoke damage throughout the branch. "It can take up to 3 to 6 months to outfit it," Keller said, describing the multi-step process of ordering, cataloging, physically processing and installing an opening-day collection and special-order furniture.

Keller outlined completed milestones and near-term deliveries: shelving installation finished Oct. 13, security and card readers are online, boarded windows were replaced and a construction clean completed. The first public furniture and a first delivery of books from the media hotel were scheduled for Oct. 27–28. Keller said the system ordered approximately 22,798 items for Colonial Heights — about 2,637 linear feet of shelving in 217 bays — and noted that books often arrive in several shipments and can trickle in over three to six months.

Keller attributed delays to special-order furniture lead times, shipping interruptions and a change among a major book vendor. "This is by far been the most frustrating time to receive items on time," Keller said, and added that the authority is pressing vendors for harder delivery timelines and working to accelerate cataloging and installation where possible.

Board members pressed staff on ways to shorten the post-construction outfitting period. Director Roger Dickinson asked whether the authority could "advance what you're doing in preparation so that it's not 3 to 6 months," noting public frustration when a building appears finished but remains closed. Keller responded that the authority has "put orders in in plenty of time" but is constrained by vendor shipping schedules and telecom providers handling on-site services; he said staff are conducting postmortems and pursuing process improvements.

Vice Chair Katie Maple urged more proactive community communications around expected timelines for reopenings in surrounding neighborhoods and offered to coordinate outreach, noting community members had sent "a rash of emails" expressing uncertainty.

Keller also reviewed progress on other projects funded by the California State Library Building Forward infrastructure grant, including major work at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library, the Elk Grove Library and the North Sacramento/Hagenwood Library; he said those projects are progressing through abatement, framing and roof work and that jurisdictions will hand buildings over to the authority for outfitting once construction is finished. Multiple smaller branch projects (ADA and HVAC work at Del Paso Heights, Southgate, Walnut Grove, Carmichael, North Highlands/Antelope and Sylvan Oaks) are staggered across late 2025–2027 to avoid simultaneous closures.

Keller said Colonial Heights staff will begin installing public computers and technology once furniture and collections are placed, and staff are targeting a December 2025 soft opening with a Jan. 6, 2026 full reopening, while cautioning that partial construction (notably the community room) may remain fenced during the soft opening.

Directors thanked staff for the update and reiterated that while some delays are outside the authority's control, they want the authority to focus on steps it can take now to compress the timeline and clearly communicate expectations to affected neighborhoods.