After a year of planning, two months of moving, the Edmonton Public Library's Enterprise Square location is officially open to the public.

The temporary downtown location at Jasper Avenue and 102nd Street is expected to be open for three years while the Stanley Milner Library undergoes a $62.5-million renovation.

The new location, which is considerably smaller at 17,000 sq. feet, compared to 90,000 sq. feet, will offer most of the services offered by the Milner library, but will have fewer than half the number of computers and less reading room.

20,000 books were packed and moved over the past couple of months. (Supplied)

"That's a huge change for the downtown clientele, particularly people who don't have access to digital technology," said Richard Thornley, the library's manager. "We'll try to maximize the computers that we make available to people."

Mathew Swift, 20, is one of the patrons using the library Tuesday.

"Who won? Who's next? You decide," he raps into a microphone, recording his voice for a cartoon rap battle in the recording room of the library's makerspace, a community workshop space.

The 3D printer, video game systems, book printer and other features have been added to the temporary library.

"I actually really enjoy it," Swift said. "Even though it's just a little toned down to one studio instead of two. I actually prefer this, because it used to be television studio."

Mathew Swift reads lyrics before rapping them in the recording room at EPL's Enterprise Square library. (Travis McEwan/CBC)

Staff estimates an average of 4,000 visitors used the Stanley Milner Library each day, including those trying to stay warm in the winter months.

Thornley said it's too early to tell how cramped it will get in the Enterprise Square site, but for now he's optimistic.

"There's more seating than appears at first glance," he said. "For instance, some of the window ledges have seating built into them over the radiators."

Abdul Hadi Telsem likes EPL's temporary downtown library. but he wonders if there will be enough room for readers. (Travis McEwan)

Abdul Hadi Telsem, who visits the library twice a week to use self-help books to learn English, says his only criticism of the new location is the limited amount of reading seats.

The temporary location offers only three rooms of tables for reading, considerably less than the Milner.

"I don't think that's going to be enough, depending on what there used to be at the previous library," Telsem said. "There was a lot of people using the library at that time."

The Stanley Milner renovation is expected to be completed in 2020.