SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Towering over South Salina Street, a new, two-story vertical sign points to a decades-old community resource.

"Library."

The new sign is the most outwardly visible piece of an $8.7 million renovation at the main branch of the Onondaga County Public Library at the Galleries in downtown Syracuse. The money is being used to transform the library into a 21st century resource.

The library's executive director, Susan Mitchell, said the renovation is part of a concerted effort to re-think local libraries for the 21st century. The days of viewing a library as just a "warehouse of books" are over, she said.

Susan Mitchell, executive director of the Onondaga County Public Library System, Friday March 25, 2016.

Among the biggest changes at the downtown branch is a street-level presence. The library has always occupied the second, third, fourth and fifth floors of the Galleries. It has now taken over the first floor and will give up space on floors four and five.

The ground floor addition will feature a "maker space" where people can learn, create and build. The space will include a music recording studio, a 3-D printer, sewing machines and other tools for those who wish to use them.

Mitchell said the explosion in downtown housing offers a chance to position the library as a resource for a new, urban population. In addition to books and computers, the library will loan home repair and do-it-yourself kits for small projects.

"You made need just a 50 cent part to fix a plumbing issue that could turn into a big deal, but the tools are $100," Mitchell said. "So you could just take out the tools then bring them back."

The library paid for the upgrades with $8.7 million in grant money from Onondaga County, New York State, the federal government and several private grants, Mitchell said. The work on the ground floor should be done in early summer.

The remodel of the third floor is already complete and includes an open floor plan with computers, meeting rooms and plenty of windows that overlook Salina Street and the interior of the Galleries. When the ground floor work is complete, the library will start renovations on the second floor.

The library updates comes amid similar projects at the Hotel Syracuse and the former Sibley's department store in that part of Syracuse.

"It's a big part of this downtown resurgence," Mitchell said.