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Building the Future
We are excited to announce that the library is planning a renovation. We are committed to ensuring the library remains a popular destination and a lovely gathering space. To that end, we continually examine how the building can best support library services, and we have saved money for the past decade to pay for renovations.
The library building is the backbone of what we do and it also provides a lovely space for our residents. It is important that the building be updated to look and feel modern and to stay relevant to our community. When we did our last renovation in 2010, we renovated the library to meet the needs of our community at that time. As we know, times change quickly! With this in mind, we asked for your feedback. In 2017 and 2019, we held focus groups and sent out community surveys. While residents continue to use the library in traditional ways, we also heard that you want more space for programming, studying, and gathering, plus more emphasis on technology. We have been working with Product Architecture and Design to develop a plan that meets the community interests, providing more, exciting public spaces for everyone!
Follow along here and on our enews and social media for updates about the project.
Updates
Updates
The library did a search for an architectural firm in fall 2019. Nine architects submitted proposals and three firms were interviewed. The board chose Product Architecture and Design (PAD) PAD is a boutique firm in Chicago that has extensive experience designing and building libraries. The board started reviewing design ideas in January 2020. In February 2020, a floor plan was approved along with a budget of $1.3 million. The project was paused when COVID struck, but design work started up again later summer.
October
The trustees approved installation of a pickup window on the west side of the building. This new feature was planned as part of the renovation. With the growth of curbside delivery of materials, the trustees saw the need to get the window installed immediately rather than wait.
November & December
The construction work and furniture and shelving went out to bid. The bid costs came in at lower numbers than expected. In December the board awarded the contracts with a new project cost of $1,141,645.
January
Lo Destro Construction Company is doing the construction, and they set a start date of February 15. The project is organized into three phases.
Phase One
During phase one, all current services still are provided to the public.
First Floor
- The café and the area where the Checkout Desk and holds are located in order to enlarge the staff space
- The Adult Services workroom will be demolished and work will start to build the new maker space
- The two study rooms in the south end of Adult Services will be demolished.
Second Floor
- The Youth Programming Room will be expanded into the area where LittleTown was located
- The Kids & Teens workroom will be demolished to create space for the public in that location
- Two conference rooms will be built along the corridor
Phase Two
Phase two is currently scheduled to start April 12 and run through April 23. During this phase, the library building will be closed. We are still determining which services will be available.
Among other things, the contractor will be working on
- The lobby and the stairway
- Building new study rooms on the first floor
- Building out the new café area
Phase Three
Phase three includes painting and installation of new carpeting. The library will reopen with most services available.
Construction is expected to end sometime around the first week in June.
