AGAWAM — The Summer Reading Program begins in less than a month, marking the return not only of the Agawam Public Library’s flagship children’s program, but also of the library building itself.

After nine months in cramped, temporary quarters at the Agawam Senior Center, the library plans to reopen its own building at 750 Cooper St. on July 5, Library Director Nancy Siegel told Reminder Publishing. It will be a long-awaited return to normal, she said.

“I think people will be pleased with the building and the maintenance that has been done,” she said. “Everything else should be as people remember.”

Staff have already begun arranging furniture and updating their inventory of books and other materials. In preparation for the move, the library has reduced the hours of its temporary location to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays only. Siegel said that allows her to reassign some staff to behind-the-scenes tasks connected to preparing the library building or moving materials.

In the last week before the Cooper Street building reopens, Senior Center library will consist solely of a circulation desk with one librarian. The library will be able to check out previously reserved items — holds — but no browsing or in-person resources will be available.

The main library has been closed since Sept. 1, 2021, when high levels of mold were detected. The building had long been plagued by roof leaks. What started as a deep-clean turned into a months-long renovation with new walls and flooring.

The renovation closure has lasted much longer than the six-week pause at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. By summer 2020, the library was back open with reduced hours, three days a week, and it resumed a full schedule and in-person programming in April 2021.

“We were just getting into the swing of things,” Siegel said. “We’re very much looking forward to getting back into the building, to having in-person programming again, to kicking off our summer reading in person with the public.”

During their eight months at the Senior Center, librarians have contended with less room and a reduced collection for browsing, but were able to continue offering online and even some in-person programs.

Siegel said the closer quarters forced the circulation staff to streamline its work, which should result in a faster check-out process at the renovated library. She said she is looking forward to being able to host a full range of in-person programs, and welcoming back some of the regular Agawam patrons who had switched to other libraries that were able to offer study areas, more computers and wider collections for browsing.

The Cooper Street building will have fresh paint and better air quality, but patrons can expect to find all their books and resources in the same places as they were before the closure, Siegel said.

The library at the Senior Center, 954 Main St., Agawam, is currently open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays only. When the Cooper Street library reopens, hours will return to the traditional 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, which represents one additional hour on Saturdays.

Siegel said although all library staff and programs will move back to Cooper Street, librarians will leave some materials in the library room of the Senior Center, to add to a collection largely made up of private donations.

“We’re going to do our best to give them good, quality items,” Siegel said.

Senior Center patrons will be able to take and leave books in the library room on an informal basis, with no checkout process or due dates.

Siegel thanked the Senior Center staff and members for making the library and its patrons feel welcome during the past eight months, and the town’s mayor and building maintenance staff for fixing the problems with the Cooper Street building.