Work beginning on third-floor renovations at Glen Ellyn library

Work is expected to begin next week on the third floor of the Glen Ellyn Public Library as part of a roughly $1.5 million renovation project, officials said.

The project is focused on redesigning parts of the facility's second and third floors to better serve patrons.

"Basically, we wanted to redesign the space that we have to meet the needs of our community now," Director Dawn Bussey said. "The building was opened in 1995 (and) the way that people want to use libraries has changed a lot over the last several years."

Part of the project involves shifting office space from the second floor to the third, she said. The end result will be to give patrons more reading and work space on the second floor.

Four small study rooms will be created as part of the project, along with a study room for a larger number of people and a soundproof media lab.

The second floor also will get another room complete with softer seating that Bussey said will be an ideal space for a book group or someone wanting to relax with some magazines.

Lighting improvements are also a part of the project, which will better accommodate those using computers and laptops. In addition, the library will get new carpeting, paint and additional seating.

The money for the project is coming from the library's Building Reserve Fund.

Bussey said the library held a series of focus groups in 2010 and residents said they wanted more study spaces and a more comfortable seating arrangement.

"And so we have taken upon this journey to create those softer, more social kind of gathering spaces as well as these small meeting rooms," she said.

While work starts on the third floor, patrons won't get disrupted on the second floor, Bussey said.

She said work probably won't start on the second floor until either the end of August or sometime in September. While work is being done on the second floor, she said, the library will remain open but will have to close off sections and move things around.

"I'm very excited about the project," Bussey said. "It will allow the community to be able to use the space that is here more efficiently and more effectively. It's going to give us more spaces and places to be able to provide programming and it'll be a wonderful new addition to our library and to our community."