Library to start $1M upgrade
By TIM KRAKOWIAK
Staff Writer
Reprinted with permission. Daily American Republic. 2007 11 30. Page 1A:2A
CHAPTER 1 - RENOVATION
The million-dollar renovation of the Poplar Bluff Public Library
will begin as early as next week.
Service areas will shift around during the process, which could take up to a year, according to library staff. They don’t anticipate closing the facility for the duration of the project.
“You’ll just have to excuse the mess,” said Library Director Jackie Thomas. “Contractors will work around our hours as best they can.”
Although the design is being scaled back from the original
plan, library
officials say they will stretch funds as far as possible in hopes that grant money will incorporate the missing elements in the end.
“It’ll be more of a renovation and less of an expansion,” said Thomas.
Dille and Traxel, the local architectural firm that designed Sterling Bank and Sedona Creek in Poplar Bluff, spent about a year on the drawing, a process that began 18 months ago.
JML Inc., more commonly known as Lewis Construction, was awarded the bid in late September. The projected cost of the project was estimated by the construction company at $1.6 million. The company was responsible for the last renovation of the library
in the late 1990s.
“Sometimes it’s hard to calculate these costs,” said John Stanard, library
board treasurer. “The company is quite familiar with the building.”
In the summer of 2006 the library
raised $150,000 in pledges from a large group of area businesses and individuals, about a third of which has been collected at this point, the rest left in good faith.
Officials applied for a $750,000 grant from the national Kresge Foundation, and would receive $600,000 if approved.
It was mandatory for the library to secure 20 percent of the money before submitting the proposal to the foundation—established over 80 years ago to build stronger nonprofit organizations.
The library
will be notified in December if the grant is awarded, according to Stanard.
“That will change the whole complexion of the project,” he said. “It would be huge but there’s no guarantee.”
Every donor was given the option to take back their money if the grant falls through, Stanard said.
“On the positive side virtually everyone said the library
could keep the money, almost down to a single entity.”
CHAPTER 2 - MAIN FLOOR
Instead of expanding the square footage of the library
as originally planned, walls will be knocked down and existing space will be utilized more efficiently, according to Thomas.
The first step is to redesign the workfiow on the upper level, said lead architect Ben Traxel.
For starters the circulation desk in the new section on the south side of the building will be moved to the old section on the north, he said. The office space will be converted into additional shelf space and books will be separated into more visible categories.
A lounge area with newspapers and magazines will be designed for reading.
“There will actually be a place specifically for sitting,” said Thomas. “Our offices are taking up prime real estate.”
The staff’s headquarters will ultimately be moved downstairs.
CHAPTER 3 - CHILDREN’S LIBRARY
The children’s library on the basement floor of the North Main Street building will go from 1,600 square feet to 9,000. The two community rooms in the newer quadrant will be removed and a grand staircase will be put in place for exclusive access, said Traxel.
A recital room, or an area for story time, will be built in the current children’s portion on the old half of the structure.
“The features we had hoped to get in the children’s library
will not be compromised,” said Traxel. “It will only be a hair smaller.”
This includes a 7-foot high, 700-gallon octagon fish tank that will contain 100 fish, according to Thomas, who has spoken with employees of Pet Adventure.
There will also be a refreshment bar, a “clouded sky” or painted ceiling, and big screen TVs, the director said.
“We’re considering several themes like ‘graffiti alley’ for the young adult section and the children’s side may become the ‘tree house,’” she said. “We want to make it a destination so the young people really want to come to read.”
CHAPTER 4 – OTHER FEATURES
The library’s heating and ventilation system will be repaired to make the atmosphere more comfortable according to Thomas.
In addition, new carpeting will be laid throughout the entire facility, walls will be repainted and new lighting fixtures will be installed.
A book drop box will be attached to the outside of the building. The back door where the city parking lot is located will be converted into a grand entrance. The sensory garden on the Oak Street side of the library will be replicated on the opposite side of the walkway, Thomas continued.
CHAPTER 5 – BOOK DEVELOPMENT
The library’s 50,000 items, which includes books, CDs and videos, will be enhanced by 25 to 30 percent, according to Thomas.
“The shelves are so full every time we order something new we have to get rid of something, which is always painful for the staff,” she said.
CHAPTER 6 – TECHNOLOGY
Over the summer the library
was awarded over $26,000 from the Missouri State Library
as part of the Technology Ladder Grant Program under the Library
Services and Technology Act of 1996.
The grants are given to libraries to attain up-to-date equipment to meet the minimum needs of library
patrons.
Last month with the money the library
purchased a mobile computer lab with stations, five wireless laptops and several portable DVD players and CD players, all dedicated to the children’s section.
The library
recently applied for funds from the E-rate Program through the Universal Service Administrative Company Schools and Libraries Division, to provide the library
with new network wiring, cable wiring and a state of the art phone system.
The federal funding was set up to give discounts on telecommunication services, Internet access and internal connections for all public and private school and libraries. The discounts run between 20 and 90 percent on the cost of eligible services. The program is based on the number of students eligible for the National Free and Reduced Lunch Program and the location of the organization.
The Poplar Bluff Public Library qualifies for an 80 percent discount or over $38,000, according to Library Technology Coordinator Shannon Lane.
“We want to be on the cutting edge of technology, particularly since there’s less access to these features in our rural community ” said Lane
If E-rate, funds run out first, the library
will not receive the money.
CHAPTER 7 – THEN AND NOW
The late Kay Porter of Poplar Bluff, whose husband owned a construction company, donated almost a million dollars to each of nine organizations, which included the public library
in 2004. Her estate is what’s making the intended renovation of the library
possible.
The Poplar Bluff Public Library was built in 1936. Thomas said it will keep all its oak shelves and its overall look to maintain the integrity of the structure.
“It’s been said if this building was sitting in the middle of the Sahara Dessert, people would think, ‘That’s a library,’” said Thomas, referring to the classic architecture.
The library serves 9,000 to 10,000 patrons a month, which is impressive for a city of this size, according to Thomas.
“We’d like to be the best of both worlds: rich in history but pretty much on top of the future,” she said.
