Stevenson library catches up to 21st century
With a collection of 70 iPads, a dozen semiprivate study rooms and a veritable sea of comfortable couches and chairs, Stevenson High School’s new information and learning center scarcely resembles a traditional high school library.
The well-appointed, two-story space is even more attractive and welcoming than many municipal libraries.
Workers are putting the final books on the shelves and making last-minute adjustments before classes start Aug. 23. Head librarian Lisa Dettling couldn’t be happier.
“I think it’s amazing,” Dettling said Wednesday during a tour of the facility. “I’m so excited, I don’t know how to contain myself.”
The $2.5 million renovation project turned space that had essentially remained the same since the Lincolnshire school opened in 1965 into a modern facility designed to meet the needs of 21st century students.
Designed by architects at Chicago-based OWP/P Cannon Design, the project used the existing library footprint but reshaped its features.
Among the highlights are a large stairway that leads from the main floor to a lower level that will double as a presentation space, a lab equipped with 20 new Apple desktop computers and a lobby area Dettling predicts will be a popular hangout for students.
“We are trying to replicate the gathering place (feel),” Dettling said.
The project was targeted as wasteful and unnecessary by three unsuccessful candidates for the Stevenson High School board this past spring.
They questioned the cost and timing of the renovation and called the plans a “Starbucks experience.”
Stevenson spokesman Jim Conrey dismissed the criticism Wednesday.
“It was really not that big of a deal, frankly,” Conrey said. “Regardless of what (critics) thought, we needed to overhaul the library to meet the needs of the current day.”
Board member Lori Lyman said hiring contractors during the state’s current economic struggles actually saved the district money.
“The contractors were very competitive in their bidding,” Lyman said in a telephone interview.
Meeting students’ needs for digital information was a chief goal for the new center. It’s equipped with a Wi-Fi network so students can use their own laptop computers, tablets or smart phones to surf the Internet, access library databases or communicate.
The center also has iPad tablets students can check out for on-campus use, as well as a collection of downloadable digital books.
“Information is now available 24/7, and that’s what we have here,” Dettling said. “We’ve bought more online resources than we’ve ever had.”
The library’s collection of print books has been reduced, from an estimated 45,000 volumes to about 31,000. Many of the discarded books were old, moldy or outdated, Dettling said.
Students still demand traditional books, however, Dettling said. The fiction collection remains popular, and the new library will have dedicated space for an expanded graphic novel and manga collection.
That section will have its own chairs for students. In the library’s previous incarnation, students splayed out on the floor as they read their favorite comics.
“We had to step over them,” Dettling said. “(So) we’re providing not only a beautiful space for the kids, but a much safer environment.”
Lyman suggested holding an open house so residents can view the center for themselves.
“If people saw what we are providing to our students, they’d be proud of it as well,” she said.