Foundation to build on patrons' dreams

The new library coming to Addison will be built on more than just the foundation, which is slated to be poured this week.

It will also be built on the wishes of local residents.

During the Addison Public Library's groundbreaking last spring, residents were asked to write their dreams and wishes for the new library on a garden rock. Those rocks were carried to the construction site this month and placed where the main stairwell will stand.

Addison locals share high hopes for the new building, which will cost about $15 million to build and should be complete by next June.

Some of their thoughts include: "Readers are leaders. May many new leaders be born here"; "That it will be a magical place for all children"; and "The new library will be the place to be -- a home away from home where all are welcome and where the community gathers."

These wishes are not the end to community involvement.

Later this month, cardholders can help choose a two-story art piece that will stand as a main feature in the new building.

Library spokeswoman Sally Schuster said patrons will choose among designs created by three artists.

"We want something that will have multiple layers of interest and interpretation, so that children look at it and see one thing, and adults can look at it and see something else," Schuster said.

Older art from the current library will also be featured in the new, 50,000-square-foot building. Schuster said patrons often express concern about losing two favorite sculptures: "A Book for Everyone," which sits outside the library, and "Enchantment of Reading" in the children's department.

Not to worry, she said, because both sculptures will come along to the new site.

To raise funds for construction -- and to keep residents consistently involved -- the library will also sell glass blocks for handprints and paw prints from Oct. 1 to Nov. 18. Pricing will be set next month. The imprinted blocks will be placed in two walls of the children's area.

"I think that's going to be another really neat feature," Schuster said. "We've put a lot of time and energy in, and really tried to listen to our patrons to make sure we include what people who use the library feel is important. It is truly their library."

Progress on the new building is broadcast on the library's Webcam, which can be found at www.addisonlibrary.org by clicking on "About the library."

The new building, which is almost double the size of the old library, will feature an eco-friendly green roof and two and a half floors. Steel walls and framing should be erected this month.

Once the new building opens, the old site will become the administrative offices for DuPage High School District 88.