Public library patrons will want to check out the community’s long-awaited new library, which opens Monday morning.
The distinctive architectural style of the new library, at 207th and School Streets, is the result of a nationwide design competition.
The new library is a startling contrast to the 14-year-old facility at the Oakwood Community Center, just south of the new library.
“It has the space necessary for library functions of a village our size,” said Library Board President Eric J. Coleman.
Besides a spacious reading room overlooking adjacent Oakwood Park, there are young adult and youth services rooms, as well as a community meeting room.
The new building nearly triples the library’s space from 8,000 to 23,000 square feet. Seating has expanded from 36 to 104 seats. Holdings now can increase to 60,000 books, 3,500 audios and 2,000 videos.
“It has all the features that any modern library has today,” Coleman said. “I believe that this building will accommodate us for the next 10 to 15 years.”
The library project began in 1989 after voters approved two referendums to increase property taxes for a bigger building. The sale of $2.6 million in bonds was authorized for the building construction. The property tax rate was increased from 15 to 25 cents to fund expanded operations.
A design contest for the new building with a $10,000 1st prize drew more than 700 entries nationwide. The winner was Philadelphia architect Craig Spangler.
Ground-breaking for the new building was Sept. 4, 1991, with Burnside Construction of Glenwood as the general contractor.
At that time, the new library’s completion was predicted to take 330 days. But construction problems, most notably a long delay in resolving a dispute about the installation of ceiling tiles, delayed completion well over a year past the original estimate.
