AMHERST — By the end of January, a temporary location that will serve as the home for the Jones Library’s main branch operations for up to two years is expected to be identified.

With bids for the general contractor for the $46.1 million renovation and expansion project for the main branch building at 43 Amity St. expected to be advertised around Jan. 17, town officials are in the midst of finding a place where town library services can be located for the duration of the project, expected to last from this spring through most of 2025.

Responses to an advertisement seeking a temporary home for library operations — 15,000 square feet within 20 minutes of Amherst center, that is handicapped-accessible and with sufficient parking and restrooms for employees and patrons — were expected at Town Hall on Friday.

Town Manager Paul Bockelman said he would be examining the responses and choosing a location in consultation with Library Director Sharon Sharry.

Sharry told the Jones Library Building Committee that staff are excited and nervous in a good way about the move and the looming project that will enlarge the building from 48,000 square feet to 63,000 square feet. The main branch will close Jan. 24 so staff can begin planning the move to temporary quarters.

Already, she said, a shredder has been rented and things are being thrown away that won’t be needed when the building reopens.

The current timeline for the move, Sharry said, is for packing to take place in February, transporting to occur in March, unpacking to be done in April, and reopening and starting serving the public in May. But she said all are tentative dates.

The other library branches — the North Amherst Library, which that has just undergone an expansion and renovation, and Munson Memorial Library in South Amherst — will have increased hours to accommodate patrons.

Staff is also figuring out how to handle circulation, holds and pickup, and where the staff and public computers, library programming and special collections will be located. It’s uncertain whether the temporary space will have a Burnett Art Gallery.

Sharry said it’s likely that the English as a Second Language program will be separated, as it needs to remain downtown due to the population it serves. There are conversations about whether space can be carved out from the Senior Center at the Bangs Community Center.

Colliers International Associate Director Tim Alix told the library building committee that the town’s Historical Commission still needs to offer input before the end of January and clear up a few more details, so that a when a contractor is on board a building permit can be sought in late winter or early spring.

Alix, as the owner’s project manager, said the current plan is to go out to bid on Jan. 17, have general contractor bids due on Feb. 28, with a contract award in early March. After two weeks or so of mobilization, actual work by the lowest responsible bidder begins.

Meanwhile, town officials have started to work on easements with abutting properties.

Bob Pereint, special capital projects coordinator for the town, explained to trustees the easements before the board authorized Austin Sarat, the trustees president, to negotiate with property owners.

One is a 2-foot-by-15-foot permanent easement that would be sought on the east side of the building. This easement would come from D’Angelo Inc., which owns the building at 48 North Pleasant St. that houses The Works cafe. This would allow the driveway accessing the rear of the library property to be straightened out and have the same width from Amity Street to a storage shed.

“That’s desired, not required,” Pereint said.

A temporary easement on the Simeon Strong House property at 67 Amity St. will allow large vehicles to get on site during construction. Pereint said already a lot of conditions are proposed in construction documents so that the contractor will work carefully around roots of trees, and not causing any damage to the building.

“We’ve put together what we think is a very appropriate set of restrictions to the contractor that will meet the satisfaction of the Strong House,” Pereint said.

Also from the Strong House, a permanent easement is sought to build a retaining wall along the back side of the library property. There will be a retaining wall encroaching on the museum’s land, so a 4-foot-by-135-foot easement is needed.

While not an easement, Pereint suggested that Sarat also speak with Barry Roberts, who owns the 11 Amity St. building from which The Drake performance venue operates. An emergency exit at the rear of that building has a staircase that lands next to the library, and library property is used due to bushes and other plants blocking egress along the building.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.