Plans are starting to firm up for a new Hayes branch of the Gloucester Public Library, director Diane Rebertus reported Monday night.

Speaking to the Gloucester Library Board during a regular meeting at the main branch in Main Street Center, Rebertus said that the lease on the present branch will expire in early August. She anticipates the new, much larger branch at York River Crossing Shopping Center, Hayes, will open in late summer or early fall.

Rebertus said that a moving company will be hired for the move, supplemented by efforts of library staff and a Gloucester Buildings and Grounds crew.

A fundraising committee began meeting in April, Rebertus said, and several generous donations have already been received. She said the committee hopes to raise approximately $85,000 for furnishing the new branch.

A brochure distributed at the meeting said the committee seeks items to furnish a meeting room, the children’s room, young adult area, a staff area, periodical area, circulation desk, exterior touches like a flagpole and a bike rack, and an assortment of general needs ranging from like shelving and chairs to baby changing tables for the restrooms.

Tax-deductible donations can be mailed to Friends of the Library, P.O. Box 2380, Gloucester, Va. 23061.

Following the meeting, Rebertus said that some of the present collection will be relocated to the new facility, while many new books, tapes, DVDs and other items will be purchased. Staff has been weeding through books and other materials at the Gloucester Point branch, with those in poor condition or not checked out in the past three years targeted for removal.

The branch will not be fully stocked with materials when it opens, Rebertus said, and more items will be added in the future.

According to Rebertus, Marge Jones, librarian/cataloger, has been selected to head the staff at the branch. In all, the library has 19 employees, with most assigned to the main library.

In other business, children’s services coordinator Kathy Barrows described some of the programs the library offers for children. The larger branch will allow more children’s programming to be scheduled, she said.

Barrows said the library has set up a series of age-appropriate sessions, from newborns to pre-schoolers, that emphasize reading and being read to, and activities like songs and games.