New meeting rooms part of Ela library's $3.5 million interior renovation
Temporary walls in the children's department at Ela Area Public Library will be coming down today, marking a milestone in a $3.5 million renovation of the 20-year building that began in the fall.
A 14-seat program and meeting room to accommodate medium-sized groups, such as Scouts, is being added in the children's area as part of the first phase of work representing about two-thirds of the overall project.
Initial work included moving the library board room to the second floor. The improved "Zoom room" has 22 seats and is described as an integrated experience for audio and video conferencing and wireless screen sharing. It will be available for groups of four or more to use.
Meeting rooms haven't been available during construction but library functions have continued.
"There has been continuous (construction) activity, but there has been minimal disruption," said Lauren Rosenthal, executive director of the library district, which is celebrating its 50th year.
The library board in late 2021 hired an architect and construction manager and last summer greenlighted the project to refresh and renovate the interior of the library building at 275 Mohawk Trail in Lake Zurich.
Most of the interior had remained unchanged since the building was constructed, according to district officials.
Other elements such as a new children's service desk stationed closer to the entrance of the department are among the intended upgrades. Phase 2, scheduled to be completed by summer, calls for additional work rooms, staff spaces and equipment and will be the most visible part of the project.
A new material sorter to handle the library's nearly 1 million returned items, for example, will replace the existing model.
"The sorter we have is on its last legs. As of this morning, it's not working at all," Rosenthal said Tuesday.
She said checkouts of materials are approaching pre-pandemic levels, with books still the bread and butter of the collections.
Work rooms also are being added to house the "Library of Things" collection of large objects available for checkout, such as snowshoes, a metal detector or a sewing machine.
The project is being funded with reserves as specified in the district's 10-year facilities plan and does not involve a tax increase.
The Ela Area Public Library District was created in 1973 by voter approval.
The first 25 years or so were spent at what is now the St. Francis community center on Buesching Road in Lake Zurich.
Voters in 1999 approved borrowing to build a new library. The 71,603-square-foot building opened in February 2002. Amenities then included two computer labs, two public meeting rooms and a drive-up window.
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