Construction of the new Schlow Centre Region Library, 211 S. Allen St., is nearing completion on time for its projected Oct. 3 opening.

The erection of the new library began in spring 2004, after the state allotted $2.5 million for the project.

Grant Walk, of Hayes Large Architects, the company designing the building and overseeing the project, said the construction is progressing well, and although slightly behind schedule, it is expected to open on time.

Betsy Allen, library director, said the library currently receives about 1,000 visitors each day and she expects the new, larger building to attract more people to the library.

"Every library I've ever heard of that had a new building had an increase in use," Allen said.

Allen said the new library will have a meeting room, a computer lab, a space for people to sit and read, and a separate children's area that will feature an activity room and an outdoor garden, she added.

Although the library formerly had no reserved parking, 70 spaces of free monitored parking will be available at the new building, Allen said.

Throughout the construction, the Schlow Memorial Library has been temporarily located in the former State College Borough Municipal Building, 118 S. Fraser St.

At the temporary location, the library saw an increase in patrons, due in part to the municipal parking available nearby, Allen said.

"We had more [people] use it in the past year than we'd ever had," she said. "I think the library has been in people's mind a lot, with the new building coming."

If the project remains on schedule, the temporary library on Fraser Street will close Sept. 19 while the collection is moved from the old library to the new one, she said.

The library will receive about 8,000 new books this year, Allen said. There are no plans to increase spending on library materials or employees in light of the new building.

Library spokeswoman Amy Neil said the new building will be 38,577 square feet, more than double the size of the old 15,000-square-foot building. The expansion was made possible because of land given to the library by the borough.

State College Borough Council member Elizabeth Goreham said the borough offered the $1.5 million parcel of land to the library because they wanted it to stay downtown.

"The library is a very important part of the core of the community," she said. "We want to keep that in the borough."

She added that the library draws business to the downtown area, and some businesses rely on library customers' patronage.

Local municipalities provided $4 million for the project, Allen said, and private donations provided $3.7 million.

The final budget, which topped $10 million, increased from its original $9.2 million after the library received a $780,000 grant from the Federal Transit Administration through the Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA).

As a result of this grant, CATA will move from its current office in the Fraser Street Plaza into the ground floor of the new building on Beaver Avenue, Allen said.