‘It’s not just the things on the shelves’: Mount Prospect library celebrates second floor transformation
Since a nearly $5 million renovation of Mount Prospect Public Library’s second floor opened this summer, the upper level has gained a reputation as a third space — a place apart from home, school or work.
On Thursday, community members officially celebrated the revamped second floor’s opening.
“The idea is pretty simple,” she said. “The way that people have used libraries continues to evolve and change, and our spaces need to evolve and change.”
The goal was a space that was welcoming, flexible, comfortable and responsive to users’ needs.
O’Sullivan says that goal has been met. For example, she said, individual study pods have been the floor’s breakout hit.
Reminiscent of old-fashioned phone booths, the rounded rectangular enclosures fit one person behind a glass door. Equipped with a light, a stool, a built-in counter and a fan, the space lets someone sit alone with their laptop or iPad in a soundproof environment.
The pods have been used an estimated 8,000 times since June, O’Sullivan said.
In addition, the six new teen rooms have been used nearly 800 times during the same time period, she said.
Mount Prospect trustees were at the ceremony. O’Sullivan credited the village with supporting the project by waiving permit fees.
Mount Prospect Trustee Terri Gens marveled at the pods.
“Where else can you get your work done in a pod that looks like it’s from ‘Doctor Who’?” she said.
Library Executive Director Su Reynders said the project came in at $4.8 million, under the $5 million budget, mostly because the bids came in low.
The library’s capital projects fund, grants and private donations paid for the project. Financial contributions came from the Friends of the Mount Prospect Public Library and the Mount Prospect Public Library Foundation.
The second floor has six soundproof rooms for teens.
“One of the big things that we wanted to do is give more space for teens,” Reynders said.
The soundproofed glass and walls give the teens a chance to hang out after school and “not get shushed a billion times,” Reynders said.
One room serves as a gaming room and is outfitted with PCs and gaming systems.
Teen Services Librarian Andrea Johnson said teens, especially older ones, have responded positively.
“We’re seeing teens in here we’ve never seen before,” she said. “We’re serving, I think, now a different age range of kids than what we were having before.”
The library’s new look is the vision of Product Architecture + Design, which has worked on a variety of library projects, including the Arlington Heights Memorial Library.
One of the firm’s project architects, Alex Krug, said the collection was pushed to the flanks, opening the middle for new books and service desks.
Other changes include new group study rooms, meeting spaces and a technology lab.
The library has been retrofitted with LED lighting. Reynders said the library received a ComEd grant for the work.
Green principles extended to the furniture. Roughly 130 chairs received new covers instead of being thrown away.
The second floor offers a quiet area where users can enjoy time without distractions.
O’Sullivan said the renovation is the culmination of a strategic planning process that used input from staff and a community survey.
“It became really clear that people love the library for the connections they make here. It’s not just the things on the shelves,” she said. “It’s the people, and it’s the opportunities to learn new skills.”
szalusky@dailyherald.com