Hold it steady.

Anyone who's walked by the renovation project of two old River Market buildings in the last several months can see that there have been some issues restoring both of the old structures.

First there was the presence of the cross-cables securing the structure visibly on its west side, followed by the rear of one of the buildings facing south being supported by steel beams.

"The stuff that's visible to those walking or driving by is just the start of it," said Bob East, chairman and CEO of East-Harding Inc. of Little Rock, the project's general contractor. "When dealing with restoration projects like this, you just never know what you're going to find."

The buildings, now part of the Central Arkansas Library System's Main Library campus, will be the home of the Arkansas Studies Institute, a joint project of the Central Arkansas Library System and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and will be billed as the most comprehensive archive of the state's history.

East said the "delicate process" of securing the structures and getting them up to current codes has delayed the completion of the project about three months, but it should be complete in one year.