OXFORD – Interior construction of a new, young adult reading room at the Oxford Memorial Library has begun and fundraisers hope to go to bid on the second phase of the capital building project by December.

Fundraising for the $1 million campaign started in September 2005. Nearly $400,000 has been raised thus far. The first phase was paid for by a grant from the Elizabeth and George Meade Foundation.

A recent wine tasting benefit hosted by campaign volunteers raised more than $7,000.

“Things have been going pretty well. Pledges have slowed up, but we have lots of grant and corporate requests still in the works, along with two major government grants. We just keep picking away at it,” Campaign Chairman Bill Troxell said.

The project aims to improve 800 square feet of the historical facility. Improvements include creating a rear-entrance; a handicapped accessible, multi-purpose room; a youth reading area; a librarian’s office; and expanded stack space. The upstairs of the existing building will continue to be used for staff programming.