More than 76 percent of voters approved an $18 million bond referendum for an Ames Public Library expansion project Tuesday, according to unofficial returns.

Ames Public Library Director Art Weeks said simply that he felt happy after learning the outcome. The bonds will pay for the bulk of the $20 million cost to renovate and expand the library.

“I'm humbled how the community has come together on this issue,” Weeks said.

The vote was 3,960 yes to 1,235 no. It required approval by 60 percent of voters.

“It was a solid show of support across all divisions,” he said.

The co-chairs of the Library Project's vote committee, Pat Brown and Jim Popken, and volunteers went from house to house educating voters.

“Ames community members made a statement about their values,” Brown said. “They value literature, education and the future. That's what this vote is about. It is not about brick and mortar. This generation is investing in the next generation.”

Weeks said they will now begin serious work with an architect. He expects to break ground on the project by the fall of 2012 and cut the ribbon by 2014.

The library will have to move to a temporary location during the construction project that will expand the 48,000-square-foot library to 77,000 square feet, by moving outward and upward. Plans include an addition of a full second story. The original 1904 building and 1940 additions would remain intact.