This diagram shows the plans for the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library, including a computer room where the auditorium is now; the auditorium where the children's section is now; and teen and children's rooms up close to the front desk.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — Renovations planned for the Moultrie library are a go.

When Gov. Nathan Deal signed the state’s budget Monday, it included money to fund the work, library director Holly Phillips said on Tuesday.

Early in the legislative session, the library and its Friends of the Library supporters had asked the community to contact lawmakers in support of the library receiving the state grant, which will add up to a little less than $2 million.

“We had a lot of help,” Phillips said. “We had a lot of people in Colquitt County advocating for it.”

The grant requires local matching funds (10 percent on the first million dollars and 50 percent on the second), but those funds are already in place, Phillips said in February.

The architect for the project will meet with the library’s board of directors next week to discuss a timeline, now that funding has been approved. Phillips said the state money will become available July 1.

The project calls for entrances to be redesigned to be more accessible and safer, Phillips said in February.

Several of the library’s sections will be moved to improve both visibility and privacy. For instance, the computer lab, which is currently in the open near the hustle and bustle of the front desk, will move to where the Willcoxon Auditorium is now and the walls will be made partly of clear Plexiglass so library workers can monitor what’s happening there. Meanwhile, computer users will benefit from the quieter environment.

The children’s library will move closer to the front desk. It’s currently located in a remodeled garage. Lighting is inadequate and there’s an echo, Philliips said.

“This brings the children’s services back into the heart of the library,” she said.

That’s important because 44 percent of the 96,000 items checked out last year came from the children’s section.

There is no dedicated teen space in the current library, but the plans create one. There are also a couple of group work rooms planned, where teams can work together on projects without having to be quite as quiet as they would working in the main library area.

“We’ve got a strong building,” Phillips said, noting that it was designed by renowned Moultrie architect Frank McCall. “It’s served us really well. We’ve got to bring it into the way we use the library today.”