WURTSBORO — On a walk and talk interview on an overcast Monday, it's striking how Mamakating Library Director Greg Wirszyla is just as comfortable in his role as administrator as he is rolling up his sleeves every day to note the progress of the construction of the new library.

It will rise up at 128 Sullivan St. in Wurtsboro, just down the street from its current location.

After three weeks of construction, he noted, “they're almost done with the blocking. Then they'll need to get that inspected. Then they'll pour the slab and get that inspected.

“There's a lot of paperwork and a lot of inspections. That's good because we can make sure everything is up to snuff,” he added.

Patrons can expect to check out books in November from the new facility.

Wirszyla knows the importance of the sense of community in a small town and how a library is an integral part of the community. As if illustrating this point, during the interview a man stopped his bicycle and asked, “What are they building here?” Wirszyla sauntered over and fielded the question and others that followed.

Like he's been doing since day one, Greg takes out his Nikon and snaps a shot of the construction which he posts on the library website.

The construction company (Billman Ross and Associates of nearby Fair Oaks) has a great reputation, he noted, adding that “they have done this a hundred times before.”

Wirszyla also noted that he can “rest easy at night” not worrying about “whether or not they're going to show up or not.”

For the Mamakating Library to have a permanent home sure beats the nomadic life it has had in the past.

“We've always rented,” Wirszyla said. Since 1985, the library has been in six different locations. The current library used to be a restaurant.

“It's not built to be a library,” he said, additionally noting its non-compliance with ADA regulations and lack of parking spaces.

It helped the decision to seek a permanent home when the owner of the library building, controversial developer Shalom Lamm, proposed to triple the rent. Wirszyla said a deal was negotiated. Currently, the library is renting on a month-to-month basis from Lamm until the new library is completed.

The future building will feature a children's room (currently there is a children's hallway). In addition, the community room is “far too small” for the programs the library features. The new library will offer state-of-the-art amenities.

The programs will be diverse. One such program Wirszyla is most proud of and has a high attendance is the chess class, which features students from seven to 84 years old.

The library will be a spacious - 4,800 square feet. It doesn't come cheap at a cost of $1.4 million, $750,000 of which came from the library's capital fund and nearly $70,000 in donations.

Additional monies have come from the New York State Construction Grant and the balance is mortgaged from the Walden Savings Bank.

The library director, in an online Q&A posted on the website, anticipates that taxes to support the library will not go up, and the budget for 2015 will remain the same as this year's - $250,000.

He cannot guarantee, however, that the situation will not change in the future: “Eventually the Board of Trustees of the Mamakating Library will ask the public for an increase. Day after day things get more expensive, not less; books cost more, utilities cost more, personnel costs go up, etc… Incidentally, the library has never asked for a budget increase since receiving our charter in 2004.”

The entire staff will stay and Wirszyla would like to see the library open with longer hours and possibly have Sunday hours, which would require hiring a part-time person.

At present, the library has four computers for public use. Another computer will be up and running in the new facility.

Wirszyla is all for books online and books read on CD. In fact, he takes advantage of books on CD during his hour-long ride to work.

There has been some controversy over kids learning to read online, to which Wirszyla replied, “As long as they learn to read - the method is not important.”

Wirszyla sees a nice mixture of adults and children at the library. “We're going to see a lot of kids now that they're off from school. We're going to have some really nice programs for them.”

In fact, a workshop on cartooning for young adults just ended, Wirszyla noted.

Wirszyla received his BA from SUNY Buffalo, a Masters in Library Science from Long Island University (LIU) and a Masters in Adolescent Education from LIU Rockland.