Libertyville library set to move in June as expansion work starts

A temporary Cook Memorial Public Library center is tentatively set to open June 8 to allow the expansion of the district's main facility at Libertyville's Cook Park, officials said Monday.

The substitute library will operate at 116 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville, with a smaller staff and fewer services during the much-anticipated construction project, which could begin in mid-June and is expected to take more than a year.

Programs, meetings and other activities normally staged at the Cook Park library will be held elsewhere in the district.

"There will be programs offered - just at alternate locations," said Erin Maassen, the library's public relations coordinator.

The temporary library will have popular books, DVDs, CDs, kids materials and some public computers. Items in the library's collection that aren't on hand can be ordered and picked up at the temporary center, the Vernon Hills branch library or a bookmobile stop.

Two librarians will oversee the temporary facility. All other librarians, administrators and employees who normally staff the Cook Park building will work at a temporary warehouse and office elsewhere in Libertyville for the duration of the construction project, Maassen said.

No employees will be laid off or placed on leave because of the project, she said.

"Absolutely not," Maassen said.

The Cook Park library will be remodeled and receive an 11,000-square-foot addition as part of a $14 million construction project. Half of that sum will be spent on the construction of a new library on Aspen Drive in Vernon Hills.

Construction in Vernon Hills has begun. That facility should be ready for patrons in spring 2010.

A contractor for the Libertyville project is expected to be chosen at the library board's April 21 meeting.

The move to the temporary space, which formerly was a retail store, will mark the first time in more than 80 years that library services won't be offered at Cook Park. The site is home to both the library and the Ansel B. Cook House, which was the library's original home.

Under the tentative schedule, the main library will be closed for construction starting 5 p.m. June 7, Maassen said. It should reopen to the public in fall 2010.

Many materials will be moved to the temporary site the first week of June to ensure a smooth transition.

"We don't want any disruptions in library service," Maassen said.

Patrons can follow the construction project by visiting the library's Web site, cooklib.org. E-mail updates are available, too.