Oceanside Library Prepares Move To Shopping Center

OCEANSIDE, NY — The Oceanside Library will transfer its facilities and operations to the Great Lincoln Shopping Center as it prepares for renovations of the main building starting early next year.

Three units at the shopping center on Atlantic Avenue are currently under reconstruction to provide a collective 15,000 square feet of space to temporarily house everything from the library's books and computers to offices and storage materials.

Two adjacent units, the former Annie Sez clothing store and the original site of Forever Diamonds jewelry store, are undergoing reconstruction to the adult and teen sections and offices at the 10,000 square foot space. A few doors away, workers are repurposing the former Denny’s clothing store unit to make 5,000 square feet available for the children’s section and material processing.

In June 2020, Oceanside residents voted to approve a $33.5 million capital bond project to reconstruct the library building at 30 Davison Ave., which included plans for alternative facilities.

“As part of that, we promised that we would have temporary facilities that would be able to provide 100 percent of our library service,” said Tony Iovino, assistant director at Oceanside Library. “We didn’t want to work out of a trailer like some libraries have. With that, we’ll be able to continue to offer a full slate of programs, computer access, books, etcetera.”

The library earmarked $1.5 million from the bond to reconstruct the units at Great Lincoln, as well to pay rent and moving expenses to and from the shopping center.

The library expects to open the temporary facilities to the public in January, while reconstruction of the main building is slated to start the same month or in February, and take between 12 to 16 months to complete, Iovino. He noted that the library expects to remain in the temporary spaces for up to 24 months.

“Our lease covers the entire period needed for permits and buildout as well as anticipated construction time, with the ability to extend the lease if needed,” he said.

Reconstructing the library building, which was last renovated in 1997, will involve keeping the existing 30,000-square-footage but knocking down the single-floor children’s room to install a basement level and a first and second floor to align with the rest of the existing multi-level building.

The expanded basement will feature a 165-seat theater, a full kitchen (for cooking classes and the like), one STEM room, one multipurpose room, and two classrooms. The ground floor will house the adult section, single study and group meeting rooms, and a cafe. A large teen room will monopolize the top floor, which will also feature the children’s room, a tween section, and offices.

As part of the bond, the library purchased a building next door, a former doctor’s office; and through the general fund, it bought a neighboring home, both structures of which will be demolished to expand the existing parking lot.

For more information about the library projects, visit Oceanside Library Vision 2021.