Lombard library's youth services area getting new look

The youth services area at Lombard's Helen Plum Memorial Library will get a fresh look in the coming months, officials say.

Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of October to renovate the nearly 2,400 square feet of youth service space on the first floor and to add a youth services staff work room on the second floor.

"It's needed," Facilities Manager Jim Kohl said, "mainly for the staff actually, they need the space to work."

The construction will be done in two phases, with the current second floor library board meeting room being turned into the youth services staff work room first. Once the conversion is complete, the library board will meet in the basement auditorium, Kohl said.

On the main floor, the most noticeable change will be the construction of a relocated youth services reference desk, Kohl said.

"It will be smaller, which will give our staff more time to mingle and work with the parents and their children, as opposed to sitting at the desk," he said.

The room that is currently used as a youth services staff work room on the first floor will be converted into a colorful reading room called the "Robin's Nest," Kohl said.

Quite a bit of modern, furniture will be added throughout the rest of the youth services area, Kohl said. The addition of colored plexiglass and images of clouds on the ceiling are some of the other details in the plans to make the area "more geared toward children," he said.

Kohl would not release the estimated cost of the project.

Bids will be reviewed by the library board Oct. 10. Construction is expected to be complete by the end of January.