It was four days to D-Day and the place was hopping. Painters rolled on a last coat of paint. IT guys fiddled with computer wire while architects strolled around looking for last minute glitches. Carpenters nailed sheets of plywood to a storage area. In just a few hours, the new South Branch of the Berkeley Public Library was set to open. And, while the bulk of the construction was done, there were numerous small things that hadn’t been completely finished, like the landscaping, shelving all the books, installing all the computers, and the final build-out of the Tool Library. “We have a lot to do in the next few days but we are feeling good about it,” Donna Corbeil, the city librarian, said on Tuesday. When pressed, though, about whether it would be finished, she took a long pause before answering with a resounding “Yes!” Corbeil is confident that the library will be ready at 12:30 p.m. Saturday May 11. That’s when city officials, library trustees, neighbors, and community groups will gather for the official opening of the South Branch. After the dignitaries make their speeches and cut the ribbon, the library will be open for business at 1:00 p.m. […]
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