The 9,600 square foot Carnegie building received a complete overhaul after nearly 100 years of service. The elevator was removed from the Carnegie building so that the elegant spaces could be restored to their former grandeur. There is a positive engagement of the Carnegie building with the uses it is now put to: it houses the Kansas Room, Board Room, Conference Room, a major portion of the Children’s Library, and on the lower level it houses staff work spaces and storage.
The 13,500 square foot new building makes a strong presence on Maple Street with an entrance at-grade level and provides almost all public service space for the library. The 6,000 sq. ft. first floor houses Reader Services—New Books, Circulation Desk, Young Adult Area, computers, and lots of reader seating at study tables and in lounge seating. The 5,200 sq. ft. second floor houses our magazine and reference collections, non fiction, biography, and oversize books as well as lots of reader seating and more computers.
The new Conference Room is located on what was the main floor of the Carnegie building and was formerly used for our non fiction collection. With the removal of the steel shelving and some rearrangement of the space, the room has become a wonderful meeting space with a kitchen and a versatile type of furniture that will provide comfort for audiences, discussion groups, or seminar groups.
Where the Circulation Desk was formerly located there is now a Gallery and regular exhibits will be displayed.
Perhaps the most interesting space of all is our Children’s Library located on the entire 3rd floor. The colorful space has a parent’s lounge but otherwise is built for youth from the scale of the furniture to their own gallery along the entrance wall. Children’s has grown from 1,800 sq. ft. to 5,500 sq. ft. which is the largest percentage growth of all library areas.
All in all the public areas of the library have grown a whopping 308%.
The first floor of the new library is a rich mix of new books, DVD’s, large print books, computers, and our teen area. There is a variety of seating for browsers and anyone wanting an interesting place to read or study. The first floor of the Carnegie building remains a staff work area and storage place. The old East side building entrance is no longer a public entrance.
The building atrium gives an interesting view into the second floor of the library where more treasures are available.
The second floor of the new library is our Information Central. Visitors will find our Information Desk, Reference Collection, current magazines, non fiction collection, and our oversize books. There is plenty of reader seating and study areas. More library computers are available here.
The Carnegie building second floor houses our Kansas Room, Conference Room, and Gallery. Visitors seeking local history or attending a library program will pass through our Gallery where interesting displays are exhibited.
The third floor of the new library is joined to the Carnegie building to make our Children’s Library three times the size it used to be. A Gallery Wall greets visitors to the area and a Parents Lounge is just inside the entrance where parents can use the Internet while waiting for a program to end. Our large story and craft area will serve year round.