Chicago's 26-year-old central library will be getting a $6 million face lift in coming months.
The Harold Washington Library is in line for a new roof, generators to keep the facility working in the event of a power outage, heating and cooling systems.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports the work, the funds for which is in the city's 2014 budget, will be paid for with tax increment financing money. That's money set aside for economic development and infrastructure and not directed to taxing bodies like public schools.
Chicago Library Commissioner Brian Bannon says the building, at 10 stories, is the nation's largest free-standing public library. He says five thousand people visit the library daily, making the planned project necessary to ensure it lasts the 100 years it was designed to.
