BUCHANAN — It happens at least once a day, according to employees at the Buchanan District Library.

Someone knocks on the building’s glass doors on Front Street, wanting to come inside. The problem is, the library has had that entrance closed off for years, forcing people to enter from the back of the building.

“The number one request we hear from patrons and downtown merchants is for an entrance from Front Street,” said Kate Scheid, library director. “Rarely a week goes by that it isn’t mentioned. The downtown businesses have seen great growth over the past few years and we feel that adding a front door would help with that growth. We get 200 to 300 people in here a day.”

Opening the Front Street door is one of several projects the library is hoping to do over the next couple years as part of a large enhancement project that began this summer.

The capital campaign to raise money for the enhancements officially began Monday when the library held an open house to show off the first phase of renovations, which were just finished.

Phase one work, which began in July, included:

• Relocating the circulation desk to the center of the library

• Renovating and enlarging the children’s area with a tree motif

• Renovating and creating an office and work room area

• Moving the Local History Archive to a newly created room on the second floor

The library spent approximately $130,000 of its own funding on the first phase. Scheid said they had been saving for years in anticipation of beginning a construction project.

“These renovations are a response to community request for more space at the library,” she said. “People wanted to see this happen and now it is.”

The library will need financial support to complete the next two phases of the enhancement project.

Phase two work would include opening the Front Street entrance to the library and installing an elevator so patrons unable to climb stairs can easily access the second floor.

In phase three, the library would:

• Add a meeting room, kitchen, restroom, staff lounge and storage areas to the

second floor

• Add office areas on the second floor

• Replace windows on the first and second floors

• Modify stairwells for compliance

Library officials estimate that phase two will cost $285,000 and phase three $480,000.

“I feel like we have a lot of buy-in and support from the community,” said Youth Services Director Sarah Gault, adding that they hope to raise all the money for the second phase within one year.

Library officials are asking the community to “Open Doors, Open Books, Open Minds” by giving donations of any amount. People may give a one-time gift or pledge over a two-year period.

For those not able to give a lot, the library is selling special campaign T-shirts, mugs and buttons for amounts most people can afford.

“We want to make sure people in the community can make a contribution even if they don’t have thousands of dollars,” Scheid said.

The library will keep track of its fundraising efforts by marking milestones reached on a large banner that wraps around the front and side of the building.

For more details about donating, visit the library’s website at buchananlibrary.org.