Architect Al Fitterer remembers working in the Northern Pacific freight house on the west end of Mandan's Main Street during summers in the early 1960s when he went to college. Freight, such as dry goods from Chicago department stores, would be separated and then loaded on to trains destined for towns like Mott and Killdeer.

Today Fitterer is working to transform the long narrow building, which most recently housed a telemarketing firm, into Mandan's new library location. Along with librarian Thom Hendricks, Fitterer is working on designs that will give patrons the feeling that the freight house has always been a library.

And thanks to Fitterer's advice, Mandan taxpayers should pay a little less for the remodeling that will take place later this fall.

Hendricks said that the library board took Fitterer's advice about bidding the project in the fall - a time when many local contractors will be looking for interior work.

The plan is for the library to open for business in mid-February.

"This should make a wonderful Valentine's Day gift for the people of Mandan," Hendricks said.

The story of Mandan and its library is a long one and has generally found the library on the short end of the stick.

Hendricks said the library has been in various locations in the past, but none has been created specifically as a library. Its current location is a former federal building that once housed a post office.

The building served the library adequately until the late 1970s when the floor was found to be structurally unsound. The library vacated the building for about six months, Hendricks said, while a new concrete floor was poured.

Then about 10 years ago, members of the library board began to feel the building was too small. Mandan voters, however, turned down a bond issue for a new library in the mid-1990s, and the board changed plans and began looking for an existing building that would work as a library.

Last spring, the city purchased the freight house for $350,000, which City Commissioner Mark Bitz described as a good deal for the city and the library. The new building means the library will have 12,000 square feet as compared to 3,500 square feet in the existing facility.

Bitz, who also serves on the library board, said the new location has two tenants, and their rent payments will help pay for utilities and maintenance expenses for the bigger building.

While he waits for his building to be completed, Hendricks has been busy collecting pieces of furniture and artwork that are reminiscent of the 1911 era, when the freight house was built. Most of the pieces, he said, have been purchased at public auction over the Internet and at prices that are lower than can be found in many antique shops.

While the furniture might have an old feel to it, Hendricks wants the library to be technologically up-to-date. This summer, the library received four computers and a server from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that will allow local organizations to post their own Web sites, once the new library is completed.

He also has joined with the Bismarck library to seek a state grant to buy video conferencing equipment.

Another feature planned for the new library is an area called Whistle Stop Cafe. The area will have several vending machines where patrons can wet their whistle or buy a bite to eat. The walls in the cafe will include photographs and postcards depicting scenes from the early days of railroading in Mandan.

The library will also feature exhibits focused on some famous North Dakotans - or at least people who passed through the state. One exhibit will feature Lawrence Welk and his music, including a bubble making machine. Another will focus on the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial.

"The Bismarck and Mandan communities are considered gateways to the Lewis & Clark Expedition," Hendricks said, "and we want to help people who are visiting our state. We can help them plan their travel routes, say to the Knife River Indian Village or pick a restaurant in Washburn."

When the new library opens early next year, Hendricks said the library will benefit all who pass through its doors, including the children. In the past, he said, the library had to limit the number of children in summer reading programs but won't with the new expanded space.

(Reach reporter Steve Van Dyke at 250-8225 or stevev@ndonline.com.)