NEW AND IMPROVED: Princeton Public Library unveils its redesigned second floor Saturday at a special day of activities. This sleek seating area is part of the vision of Andrew Berman, architect. (Photo by Cie Stroud Courtesy of Princeton Public Library)

Since last June, tarpaulins have covered the windows of Princeton Public Library’s second floor as renovations have been underway to reconfigure its layout and make it more relevant to the digital age. The “2Reimagine” project is now complete, and the public is invited to tour the new space on Saturday while participating in a roster of celebratory activities.

The full schedule of events begins at 10:30 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting at the top of the stairs on the second level, and concludes with a 5 p.m. performance at the Fireplace by a cappella groups from Princeton High School.

In between are a “meet the artist” opportunity with painter Jay McPhilips in the Reading Room, a talk by science writer Michael Lemonick about his book The Perpetual Now: A Story of Amnesia, Memory and Love in the Newsroom, smartphone filmmaking in the Technology Center, “Ask the Mac Pros” in the Discovery Center, and a reading and signing by children’s book author Ame Dyckman at the Fireplace.

Mimi Omiecinski of Princeton Tour Company will hold a Princeton Trivia Contest for all ages in the Newsroom, Hester Young will read from her book The Shimmering Road in the Newsroom, photographer Oleg Moiseyenko will show visitors the vintage cameras he used to create photographs that are on display in the Technology Center, and the Robotic Rockettes, an all-female group of local middle school students, will display their award-winning robot in the Discovery Center.

The newly configured space, designed by New York architect Andrew Berman, was put together with input from focus groups of library users. The idea is to balance books and quiet areas with spaces devoted to collaboration, learning, and creativity. A glass-enclosed quiet reading room, nine study rooms, a newspaper and magazine reading room that converts to a 50-seat programming area, a business center, and a discovery center are part of the project. The digital infrastructure has been updated to include some 500 mps WiFi.

“Everything about the redesign, from the more browsable collection to the additional study rooms, to the technology upgrades, is intended to enhance the experience of visiting the library,” said Executive Director Brett Bonfield, in a press release. “We are very grateful to the donors who made the project possible, and look forward to all the new ways the redesign will allow us to exceed the expectations of all who come through our doors.”

The project was the final initiative of longtime director Leslie Burger, who retired at the end of 2015. When the library reopened after a major renovation under her stewardship in 2004, the focus was on reference books and getting answers to questions from librarians. But digital content has changed the way people use libraries, she told Princeton Council when introducing the reconfiguration idea at a December, 2015 meeting. Funding for the $3 million project was raised almost exclusively from private sources, with only six percent coming from public coffers.

Among those who will be on hand at Saturday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony is Mayor Liz Lempert, who holds her monthly “Meet the Mayor” sessions at the library and has been a supporter of the new design.

“The new second floor is another example of what makes the Princeton’s Public Library not just a good public library, but an extraordinary one,” she said in an email. “The new configuration of meeting rooms, communal reading spaces, and technology instruction areas anticipates current and future needs, and adds an exciting new dimension to the library’s offerings. I’m especially grateful, in a time when municipal budgets are tight, that the funding for the project came almost entirely from private donors in the community.”