Thousands of books were packed into trucks and shipped down Townsend Avenue toward the Meadow Mall where the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library will be temporarily located.

On October 26, the dedicated staff and volunteers were busy prepping the space, painting the walls and tagging over 5,000 of the library's most frequently circulated books that will be available at the new location, next to Boothbay House of Pizza.

Change has been challenging for the local library, which is undergoing extensive renovations from November until next May, said library director Tim McFadden.

During the five month renovation, most of the normal services and programming will continue at the Meadow Mall location; however, due the smaller space, the Literary Luncheons will be held in the Boothbay Harbor Town Office.

The weekly delivery service will continue to be offered to people unable to leave home, as will the interlibrary loan service. Thousands of e-books and audiobooks will still be available to anyone with a library card.

“A lot of libraries would have just closed down, but we felt we couldn't do that, so this will work out nicely,” said Mary Pinkham, the children's librarian.

While the temporary library might be a smaller space, the “flavor” of the old building has carried over to the Meadow Mall. The first item dropped off at the new location was the giant red barn from the Children's Library depicting a scene from E.B. White's “Charlotte's Web.”

Volunteer Duane Pinkham worked to position the barn onto the back wall.

“Here, take this rat,” he said to his wife, Mary.

“I keep telling you, his name is Templeton,” Mary Pinkham said.

Construction will begin on the old building during the first week of November, and the building will include a second floor, and many new renovations, McFadden said.

The temporary location will closed from October 28 through November 4.