A mother and her young daughter sit at a small table and thumb through the pages of a colorful picture book. The two whisper to each other and quietly enjoy the beautiful artwork. 

They are seemingly unaffected by the large-scale construction project taking place just a few dozen feet away. 

Warren man banned from library after causing disruptions.

Inside what used to be second floor office space at the Barrington Public Library, crews of workers erect metal wall studs and install new heating and air conditioning ducts. Their labor takes place a short walk from the temporary children's room space.

The renovation project started just a few weeks ago, but has been years in the planning.

At the May 2015 financial town meeting in Barrington, voters approved a $1.2 million bond to redesign and renovate the second floor of the public library. Much of the work focuses on the children's room, which had been located at the western end of the building.

Imagination was key while planning renovation.

A few months back, workers relocated the bulk of the children's books to the eastern end of the building, inside the gallery space behind the auditorium. Regular patrons have grown accustomed to the temporary digs, but are periodically surprised by the expanding second floor work zone.

A span of drywall now greets people as they summit the stairs to the second floor. Signs mark the construction zone and warn "Hard hats required." But the bangs and clangs of construction fade quickly before reaching — and potentially disrupting — small cluster of readers nearby.

Deborah Barchi said the project's contractor has made a special effort to limit the volume of the demolition/renovation. There is no radio blaring loud music and workers refrain from hollering at each other. Especially noisy work is completed before the library opens to patrons.

"I've been really pleased," said Ms. Barchi. 

Tony DePasquale, the president of ADS Construction Inc., which is handling the project, said the work has been progressing on schedule. He added that crews have tried their best to keep noise to a minimum.

"That's why we left the carpeting down," he said. 

Mr. DePasquale, a Barrington resident and former member of the town council, said the first couple weeks of work focused on demolition. He said crews removed the existing duct work piece by piece, lowering each section on a lift machine.

"We took a lot of duct work out of here," he said. 

In the temporary children's room space, there is hardly any evidence of the nearby construction. Children scan shelves for books and DVDs, and sit with their parents in a small reading space. Librarians re-shelf books from a cart.

Mary Harty, the head of the children's room, said she and other staff members were careful to make available certain materials they knew would be requested by patrons during certain months. 

"It hasn't been bad at all," said Ms. Harty. "Nobody has complained."

Work on the children's room is slated to be completed by the end of March. The other portions of the project should be completed by the end of May.

Creative financing made the project possible. The $1.2 million bond will be reimbursed 100 percent through the state's Public Library Construction Reimbursement Program. Private donations and grants are also covering a large portion of the price tag.