Lodi Library without air conditioning

It’s been about a week since the Lodi Public Library began construction on its teen center, and now, due to the ongoing construction, the building has been left without air conditioning.

Library Director Dean Gualco said the air conditioning system won’t be functional again until January.

“As part of the construction of the center we’re building a patio which means we need to move our air conditioning unit,” Gualco said. “So that is in the process of being moved and relocated to make way for the patio and the Teen Scene.”

The air conditioner generator and chiller will be moved 40 feet and at the same time there is a lot of construction going on around the air ducts.

According to Gualco, he and library staff were aware that the library would temporarily lose air conditioning with the construction. It just happened two weeks earlier than when they expected.

“We certainly waited until most of the summer was over before we did this. We may have a couple of weeks, but our hope is that it cools off and that we picked the right time,” Gualco said.

Currently the library is being kept cool by 15 fans and six more are on the way.

“The air conditioner went out a little earlier than we thought, but we are working to make sure that we have as many fans as possible,” Gualco said.

The library typically serves as the city’s official cooling center. With the fall weather right around the corner, Gualco doubts there will be a need for a cooling center. If things do start to heat up, however, Gualco said the city will designate another one of its buildings as a cooling center.

“The city would designate another space, and most likely it would be Hutchins Street Square, but we’re not sure just yet,” Gualco said. “Probably in the next month or two there is going to be no need for an air conditioner. The temperatures should cool off. In fact, they’re cooling off now.”

Gualco pointed out that the library typically doesn’t get much use as a cooling center anyway.

“When we are a cooling station, we do not see any increase in attendance. We see minimal at best increase in attendance, so there is just not many people that come to the library for the official cooling station.”