Wednesday, September 24, 2008 8:06 PM CDT
Charleston public library's renovation nearing an end
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — The Charleston Carnegie Public Library’s expansion and renovation will conclude early next month when patrons curl up with good books in the new quiet reading room.
Contractors are putting the final touches on this room, which occupies the renovated ground floor of the library building that was constructed in 1904 with the help of funding from steel maker and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
“I think Carnegie would be proud we updated his work and it’s still a vital part of the community,” said library Director Sheryl Snyder.
The 1904 building and its 1960s north and south additions closed for renovations in January as services moved into the new addition. On Sept. 2, a children’s picture book room opened in the 1904 building’s lower level and the genealogy area moved into the south addition. The north addition is being used for storage.
Snyder said she hopes the 1904 building’s main floor will be able to open as a quiet reading room in early October. Soft chairs as well as wooden chair and table sets have already been arranged there.
Magazine and newspaper racks will be moved into the quiet reading room, alongside a coffee pot station. Patrons will be able to read there beside the glow of two 1904 coal-burning fireplaces, which have been converted to electrical use.
“We have literally gutted the whole structure,” said Snyder, noting new wiring, insulation and air handling ducts. “It was really redone from the inside out.”
The quiet reading room is adjacent to the library’s former main entrance at 712 Sixth St. The new main entrance is on the west side of the two-story addition, facing Fifth Street. Snyder said the library’s “historic entrance” facing Sixth Street will be reopened.
With the Sept. 2 opening of the picture book room, the children’s area now flows from the lower level of the addition into the lower level of the 1904 building. The picture book room includes a family restroom and a computer station.
Library patron Joy Kaurin said she likes how computer stations for different age groups have been spread throughout the library. Kaurin said she visits the children’s area at least once a week with her 4-year-old son Sam and 3-year-old daughter Emily.
Kaurin said Sam likes the blocks and the Thomas the Train Engine table in the new “sprawling room” and Emily likes the doll house. She said they also check out an assortment of books each week.
“It’s something different to do, and there are always other kids there,” Kaurin said. “I think the children’s librarians are pretty special people. You can tell they all want to instill a love of literature in children. They are all sweet to all the kids that go.”
The children’s area was formerly housed in the 1960s south addition, where the genealogy area is now located. Prior to the expansion and renovation, the genealogy area had been housed in a room within the 1904 building’s lower level.
Snyder said the genealogy area now has room to spread out its large collection of genealogical materials, Abraham Lincoln and local history books, newspapers on microfilm, and Coles County marriage, land and death records. The new area includes conference rooms, a computer station, and restrooms.
“It’s tripled the size of what we had before,” Snyder said.
The expanded library is served by a new parking lot west of the addition. City crews have built this lot and have begun completing the final half.
Voters approved a referendum in April 2005 authorizing a $7-million bond issue for the library’s expansion and renovation project that will be paid off through property tax funds.
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 348-5734.
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voltaire wrote on Sep 23, 2008 11:07 PM: