The Cumming branch of the Forsyth County Public Library will be closed Friday for renovations.

The county’s first branch will get a makeover, moving to a one-service desk model instead of having both a reference and circulation desk, said Jon McDaniel, director.

The change is aimed at improving service and keeping costs down, McDaniel said.

"We knew that money’s tight," he said. "So by going from two service desks to one, we’ll be able to operate the library with less public service personnel. That way, the surplus we can transfer to the Post Road library."

Post Road, the county’s fourth branch, is anticipated to open in summer 2013.

The one-service desk model is in place at the Hampton Park library and the change will come to Sharon Forks likely on the President’s Day holiday in February, McDaniel said.

Also during the Friday closure of the Cumming branch, the library will finish getting its radio frequency identification system in place.

The RFID tags allow people to check out multiple items in a single scan.

The self-check stations at the branch will stay where they’ve been, but the single-service desk for staff will be moved about 25 feet up from the current reference desk, McDaniel said.

Some electric hookups will also need to be shifted.

The last renovation at the Cumming branch was in 2007, with the movement of administrative offices and some interior design changes, McDaniel said.

The library opened in 1992 and still has the same circulation desk, he said.