So many thanks, so little time

Some of my favorite guys...rejuvenating at break time!

Next week we begin our move back to our newly renovated and expanded library.

It’s been a whirlwind of activity for ten solid months. Time to say a few words of thanks.

Kudos to Joe Daniels Construction Co. and all the subcontractors for their commitment to our project, their attention to detail, and their outstanding workmanship.  They have taken an extraordinarily complex job and tackled it the way Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews meets opponents…with energy and determination.

The architectural team at Uihlein Wilson Architects expertly led by Del Wilson has worked diligently and tirelessly on our behalf, especially Troy Wohlt.  Their library team envisioned a magnificent library for Fort Atkinson and then made it happen.

The library staff deserves more thanks than I have words for.  They’ve all gone above and beyond and then some.

The city and the library board were always there…providing vision and encouragement, support and insight.

The volunteers have lent the helping hands we’ve needed, whenever we’ve needed the assistance.

The donors delivered for us by giving funds when the economic woes were deep and wide.

Thanks to *everyone* who has helped make our library story include such an exciting and important chapter!  If I forgot to mention you, my apologies.  It’s surely not for lack of gratitude.

Stay tuned to see the results of all that hard work; we will be opening to the public at our new library on Tuesday, February 1.

A matter of perspective

The front of the stained glass as seen in the future new books area

The back of the stained glass as seen from my office

Wow.  They have installed the stained glass piece designed and created by Rudy Bushcott.  Rudy is Fort Atkinson’s assistant city engineer.  He gave the library this work of art a number of years ago.  We had it hanging up high, way above our checkout desk.  It was the best spot we could find for it in our old library due to space constraints.    Many people remarked on its beauty over the years.  But just as many people may never have noticed it because the placement and lighting didn’t do it justice.

When we cleaned out the old library, Rudy kindly came in and boxed it up for us so we could transport it to safety because we had plans to reuse it in our new library.

Not too long ago I got a call from site superintendent, Tom Laufenberg.  He said they were ready for it.  So back to the library it went for installation as the window to the director’s office.   The front side faces the new books area; the back side is in my office.  It’s eye level and the light shines through the glass providing the stunning view you see in the photos.

You will notice the view in my office is better than the view from the public side.  I actually asked Tom (as politely and carefully as possible)  if they’d installed it backwards.  He smiled at me and said, “No, Connie, we knew you’d want the front side facing the public.  We asked Rudy which was the front before we installed it.”   He showed me that the cables running down the backside determine orientation.  The difference, of course, is the lighting.  Because my office lights were not fully installed, the darkness of my office lent itself to the perfect viewing of stained glass.  The light from behind illuminates the piece giving it unbelievable depth and richness.  In fact, I could hardly imagine something more beautiful. The first time I saw it I found myself speechless.

In life, as in art, perspective matters.  The stained glass is the same as it has been since the day we first hung it years ago.  But looking at it in a different place changes everything.   When you look at anything in life from another angle you may notice something you missed before.  When you are in the midst of difficulties, it helps to remember that sometimes you actually need darkness before light shines through and repaints your picture.  In my own life, I’ve found that you just have to keep looking until you find the view that yields clarity.  This library project was years in the making and would not have moved forward if many people hadn’t had faith that our library could be expanded and redefined, much like a fully illuminated work of art, because it was brought forward during a very dark economic time.

I’m forever grateful to everyone who shared in the vision and helped.  When all is said and done, libraries are about helping people find their best view of life.   They allow someone to step inside and right into the shoes of another.  They teach people to reach.  They inform, educate, enlighten.  They afford unlimited opportunities for growth.

A library can not only change your perspective, it can change you.

Thank you for helping foster growth in such a beautiful way, Rudy.

Two doors down…and other changes afoot

There is little about our library that hasn’t been considered for change over the course of the last year.  We moved our entire operation last March and have been working on changing our old library building from the inside out since our departure.  (Actually, Joe Daniels Construction Company and its subcontractors have been doing that part.)

As a part of our design, we made the decision to move our front door further down Merchants Avenue.   This is the second time we’ve moved our front entrance.  The first move was made as a part of the 1983 expansion.  At that time we didn’t change our address; we opted to keep it as an East Milwaukee street address even though that had become the side street to the library.  Over the past 27 years, we have realized that having your front door on a street other than your address tends to confuse people.  We are now in the process of making an address change to reflect the fact that our front door is on Merchants Avenue.   When we move back, our address will be 209 Merchants Avenue.

And there are many other changes as well.  The most significant is that we will have two floors of service when we reopen.  That’s a very big difference for staff.  The upstairs will house collections for adults, quiet reading areas, and our research/technology center.  Our lower level will have our checkout area, the children’s library and a room for teens.  Bathrooms and meeting areas will be available on both levels.  We’ll be changing from two meeting rooms to two that are accessible after hours and five that are within the interior of the library.  Our sidewalk has also changed drastically.  The two levels of steps are gone as well as the retaining wall alongside the curb.  The entry is grade-level making accessibility profoundly easier.   The elevator has changed to an machine-room-less (MRL), high efficiency style and is located in the center of the checkout area.   We will have a self-checkout station as well as a staffed checkout.  Our materials return will not be at the front desk anymore but in the entry area accessible from inside and outside.  Our delivery door will move to the back so that all deliveries will be able to go directly into the staff workroom.  Our story time room will be adjacent to the children’s department instead of one floor away.  We are also thinking about changing our library hours based on study of usage patterns and our need to staff our building differently.

Not everything has changed.   You will see parts of our old building you recognize, I promise.  You will also see our valued staff members, in a different space, but with the same service philosophy.

I know change can be daunting and scary.  But it can also be fun and exciting as well as a real opportunity for fostering growth.  I will share with you some words that I refer to for inspiration.

Existing conditions

I’ve learned a new vocabulary with this building project.  The phrase “existing conditions” is used quite often.  It generally means something negative.  In my life before the building project, “existing conditions” might have been a way to describe the fact that it was sunny today.  In my life since the building project, it means they found rotted wood due to failed EIFS (synthetic stucco system).  Or charred wood behind the walls from the fire in 1945.  

The library was damaged by fire on January 22, 1945. The fire started in the kitchen and damaged some 23,000 volumes by smoke and 501 books which had been in the kitchen were destroyed. Six truckloads of debris were removed. The library was temporarily closed and the circulation library was moved to the former wartime Ration Office in the Municipal Building. The library remained closed until June 16, 1945. During this time, the kitchen and a closet were combined into a kitchen-storeroom.

Today, after the removal of the walls, you can still see the evidence via charred wood; it even smells faintly of smoke. 

Here is a photo of the wood rot from the failed EIFS used in 1983.  Joe Daniels Construction Company has finished replacing and rectifying the problem areas.  We are very glad to have discovered this “existing condition” even though it was unexpected.  It would be far worse to have a continued degradation of the structural integrity of your building. 

Even though we’ve found any number of “existing conditions” , we are still on time and on budget.   Unexpected does not mean unplanned for.   We were fully anticipating that we would have some surprises to discover and our project budget reflects that.  This is an old building with a rich past;  that makes for a complicated project.

Kudos to Uihlein-Wilson Architects for their design, planning and project oversight as well as Joe Daniels Construction Company for their responses to “existing conditions” and their demonstrated commitment to quality construction.  Together they are working hard to ensure that our community will have a structurally sound and utterly beautiful library.

Bending steel takes time…but is well worth the wait

A tribute to steel benders everywhere

The Joe Daniels Construction Company crew members, expertly led by Tom Laufenberg and Joe Trainor, have been working hard on our library expansion project.  I can’t say enough about how diligent they’ve been every step of the way.  They’ve uncovered a few surprises since we began construction three months ago, including less than perfect “existing conditions”, but they report, respond, and adapt.  I’ve been so impressed with how they’ve orchestrated demolition and reconstruction simultaneously and with such a can-do attitude.

Not long ago I asked Tom why they had most of the framing up on the addition but not the curved wall at the south end of the building.  You could see where it was going to go but there wasn’t any structure there yet and I was anxious to see it.  (He never tires of my questions.  Thank you for that, Tom.)   So Tom paused a moment and said something like, “Well, the steel and the structural people have to agree on how to bend the steel.”  (At least that’s what I think he said based on my limited understanding of construction-speak.)  He went on to explain that bending structural steel into a curve to fit exactly into the space required precise calculations.  Once those were agreed on by all parties, the steel had to be bent.  Not many companies bend structural steel.  Hence the wait.

They erected the curved steel on Wednesday.  It is now in place on the south end of our library addition.  I can’t tell you how magnificent it looks.  As it gets filled in with walls and windows I’ll share the photos with you.  Here you can see the beginning of a truly remarkable addition to our library!  (Click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Demolition and salvage have begun in earnest

Checkout area...with desk removed

Public restrooms...no more!

A visit to the library now requires a hard hat and permission. I stood in the library today and marveled at the beauty of this building, despite the rubble.  My office is gone.  Everyone can now see the beautiful cupboard, built in 1916, that was formerly tucked away in my office.  The circulation desk is but a memory.   The staff kitchen cupboards have made their way to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore. Everything is marked and discussed: ”staying” or “going.”  Sometimes even the “staying” is “going” temporarily just to get it out of the way.  Joe Daniels Construction Company wants to be sure the valuable items that will be reused are not damaged.  Some of them are irreplaceable.

The front terra cotta entrance and pillars are now being dismantled so that it can all be removed and put back together at our new entryway down the road.

It’s exciting to witness the tranformation.  We’ll do our best to share photos and video so you can see too!  (Thank you to Amy Lutzke for these photos and to Doug Hornickle for so expertly removing the shadows for us.)