Work on Swansea's multi-million pound new central library has started.It is being built as part of the new civic centre in County Hall.
The £13 million project has been underway for some time but work on the library is now taking place.
It will see the city's central library move from its home in Alexandra Road to the new base in County Hall.
It is due to open in spring next year and Swansea Council is promising it will be bigger, with more books and other media and a self-service check-in and check-out.
But the big move will mean big changes.
The Alexandra Road library will close on Mondays from April 16, as staff begin the huge task of moving the vast collection of books.
Staff from County Hall are also on the move and are being relocated to Oldway House in Orchard Street to make space for the new civic centre.
Rehousing the staff of around 70 is costing Swansea Council £148,000.
A spokesman for the authority said public services would not be affected by the work on the new library and the civic centre.
When it is completed the civic centre will include a seafront caf??, a family history centre, an exhibition area and a customer contact centre.
A spokesman said the library move was going well.
He said: "It means that the central library will be closed on Mondays only from April 16 to make sure that they can be moved from the building safely and effectively."
Central library project manager Karen Gibbins said: "Much of the collection currently resides either in basement storage or on the galleries in the reference library.
"All these books have to be removed for assessment so that repairs and rebinding can be carried out and the catalogues updated.
"Unfortunately, this work cannot be carried out when the library is open to the public, and the sheer quantity of material to get though means that this adjustment to opening hours is unavoidable."
Principal librarian Rebecca Williams said: "The first new books were bought last week and planning is well underway for the events programme which we hope will provide something for everyone, from baby rhyme-times to local history talks."
Gerald Clement, cabinet member for culture, recreation and tourism, said: "It is a painstaking and complex task that can't be done overnight. Some of the collections are very fragile and need to be looked after carefully for the enjoyment of future generations.
"The council will only be able to do this if staff have plenty of time to do it. Spreading the effort out over a number of months by closing the library on Mondays minimises the inconvenience to library users."
