New Gail Borden branch on schedule

Construction on the new Gail Borden Public Library branch is on time, on budget and pushing the envelope of environmental friendliness.

Library officials Thursday toured the $4.2 million branch on Elgin's west side that is scheduled for a summer 2009 completion. The facility can be expanded in the future, uses a series of 12 450-foot deep geothermal wells to cut energy costs and materials will have an emphasis on sustainability.

The facility will focus on children's actitivities and current reading materials; it will not duplicate what the main library in downtown Elgin has to offer. It will complement the main library. For example, patrons can place a hold on an item at the main building and pick it up at the branch.

"It's going to be an activity center. This is not a traditional library in any sense of the word," said Carole Medal, the library's executive director, noting the facility has a very open floorplan because "10,000 square feet is not a whole heck of a lot of space. If you start making rooms, you carve up the space."

Library trustees, who broke ground this spring, were impressed with the building even though its interior is in a skeletal state and nowhere near finished.

"I'm just amazed that the construction enables it to go up so fast," said Herb Gross, library trustee. "This is really tremendous. It's really going to be a nice facility."

The main area has large south-facing windows for ample natural light and a view of wetlands and open space. Officials aimed for Earth tones inside.

"It's such a natural area," said Sarah Ponto, interior designer for Engberg Anderson, a Milwaukee-based architectual firm. "We're bringing in very natural colors, greens, rust reds, watery colors, things you might see in the landscape,"