Sculpture to honor former Vernon Area library director

A sculpture honoring a former director of the Vernon Area Public Library will be unveiled at the Lincolnshire facility next year, officials said Tuesday.

The piece will memorialize Allen Meyer, who died in June 2008 after a battle with cancer. The bronze sculpture will depict a child reading on a bench, library board President Jane Berman said.

It will be located in front of a bank of windows near the main entrance.

"I think it's precisely the sort of tribute Allen would have appreciated," Berman said. "It focuses on his origins as a children's department librarian and his love of children and reading."

Meyer, of Buffalo Grove, had been the library's director for 20 years. He had joined the library as a children's librarian in 1985.

The library saw tremendous growth and change during Meyer's tenure. He oversaw the library's move into a new building in 1993 and was praised for bringing the facility into the digital age.

"He changed the way people think about libraries," Vernon Area board member George Goldstein said.

The sculpture is set to be unveiled in April 2010, Berman said.

A scholarship in Meyer's honor also is planned.

Both the sculpture and the scholarship are the work of the Friends of the Vernon Area Public Library community group.

A representative of the volunteer group could not be reached for comment.

Vernon Area board members began talking about ways to honor Meyer within a few months of his death. Initial options included an outdoor reading area, the creation of a special collection and the creation of an art collection in the children's department.

Meyer was succeeded by the library's current director, Cynthia Fuerst. She was unavailable for comment.