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.

Buy a piece of library history

As our project nears completion, we have started to think about moving back home.   We’ve inventoried what’s going back and what’s not and are now selling the items that are being retired from library service such as book shelves, tables, chairs, and desks.    We’re doing this via an online auction site called Ready Set Auction.   We’d love to find new homes for all of our stuff!  Bid early and often and take home a piece of library history while helping support our library.

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.

Making the grade

The contractors have been working outside for some time.  The roof and stucco systems as well as the utilities installations are nearly complete.  Grading and sidewalk work have begun in earnest.  Ever mindful of the approaching winter season, the schedule is very tight related to outside matters.  Actually, the schedule is very tight overall.  And that’s a good thing because it allows us to stay on our timeline.  (More about our projected move back date…which is fast approaching…in a future post.)

This first photo is of the grading work in front.  The grading work is important because East Milwaukee Avenue is considerably higher than South Third Street.  We took advantage of that and moved our front door toward South Third Street.  That allowed us to have a grade level entry which we ranked as essential for accessibility.   At this point, we’ve come to the part of the project where they must make sure all the grades are exactly as they should be for both the sidewalk at the street and for the frost protection on the building.  Additionally, because South Third Street is fairly steep on the east edge of our property and then drops rather quickly, we had to carefully consider runoff and drainage issues as well.   Many thanks to Rudy Bushcott, Greg Greenhalgh, Tom Kopps, Tom Kramp, Greg Misfeldt, John Ottow, Brian Tracy, and Jeff Woods.  As we sorted through the site issues, their insight was invaluable.

Here is the scaffolding for the stucco system work.  I must say, when they are working in an area, they really work in an area!

And, finally, a photo of the new south end of our building nearing completion of the exterior.  This is a great view of the completed synthetic stucco, the tile roof elements, and the trim.  (Click on the photo and the picture will enlarge.)  The grading is still a work in progress, but don’t look at that.  Look at how beautiful our library will be!

Inside, outside, upside down

Some images from the library’s renovation and expansion project.  More about the upside down thing in a future blog post.

ChaCha doesn’t provide answers like this

Libraries have historically been known as places of research and information, the place to go when you have a question.  Over the last few years, new methods of getting answers to questions have surfaced.   Many websites exist whose purpose is to provide answers (and profit).  These days you can get answers sent via text message to your cell phone from places like ChaCha.   Sometimes it works.  Then again, sometimes it doesn’t.  I will point out that the answers you get from non-experts should not be assumed to be accurate.  Always consider the source and the citation.

Libraries offer web services to answer questions too.  In Wisconsin you can use AskAway for fast, reliable answers provided by librarians.  Libraries are *still* the best place for people  who seek accurate and complete answers to questions.  If you want more than a sound bite, come on in to explore, discover and reflect.   You can read the research, see the pictures, hear the words, feel the story.  Whatever the question, there’s something more you can learn.

It’s my personal opinion that asking questions is an important part of life.   Here I’m talking about the kinds of questions that will never be answered on ChaCha.   Sometimes it’s hard to ask those questions because you worry that others may feel you are questioning their decision or judgement.   Sometimes it’s hard to ask questions because you are afraid of the answer.   But asking “why” generally yields benefits.

So when Bob Bell walked in to the library this summer, pointed at the building plans on display and asked, “Connie, why are you putting that wall up in the old entryway and not taking advantage of the nice architectural feature of the curved wall?” I listened and said, “Well, we talked about that during the design process.  But I don’t remember the actual reason that wall is going there.  I think it might have something to do with providing structural support for the new floor above.  Or maybe it was budget related.”   Hmmm.  Not the best answer, but an honest one.  I guess I needed to do some research to properly answer the question.

I took the question I was asked and asked a question of my own to the architect and contractor.  “Why is that wall there?”  Followed with, “Does it *have* to be there?”  Followed with, “What would it cost for it not to be there so we could put in windows?”  Followed with, “How much of a priority is this?” [which can be translated to] “Do we have the money?”  And, finally, “Is it too late to make this happen?” (Okay, so that was more than one question.)

I’m so glad the architect, the contractor, the library construction committee, the library board, and the city council all believe in the importance of asking questions.

This week they removed the wall studs and cut the holes for the windows.  We now have natural light in an area that was looking very dark and tunnel-like.   Talk about the transformational power of light.  And the impact on the exterior design is just as significant.

Thanks for coming to the library with your question, Bob.   I can guarantee that a ChaCha answer would not have been the same.

Last call for the wall

There are obvious signs this building project is marching toward completion.   For one thing, the terra cotta has been reinstalled.  For another, the windows are in.   We are now talking furniture and landscaping and bike racks.

And having detailed discussions about the design and layout of the donor wall.

I know there may be people who are thinking they want to donate to the library’s Foster Growth capital campaign but will do so…later.   I can relate;  that procrastination thing happens to me a lot.  Therefore I wanted to be sure to let folks know that we are in the beginning stage of creating our donor wall.  We have set a November 15th deadline for having a name listed on the wall.  Mind you we will never not accept a donation.  (And donations are still needed and appreciated no matter when they happen.)   But there will be a time when it will be too late for a name to be incorporated into the library’s beautiful donor recognition piece.  All gifts of $500 or more will be named on our capital campaign donor wall.  

It’s easy to donate.  Simply click here (select the library fund) and pay by credit card!   Or mail us a check.  Or stop by and fill out a pledge card.   We’re flexible.  (But our deadline’s not.)

Putting the pieces back together

Jason from Masonry Restoration at work rebuilding a pillar

I’ve learned a great deal throughout this project including what “terra cotta” means.    And the word “corbel” (which I only knew as a brand of brandy before…albeit with a different spelling!)  And the way the “v” in the word “pvblic” was commonplace during a few years in architectural history.  I also now know that moving the pillars from the old entry to the new entry is painstaking word.  I’ve seen how much care the crew from Masonry Restoration has taken with the terra cotta.  *Thank you* to them for their expert efforts to preserve our important library history. 

Piece by piece they took it down, labeled it, removed it, stored it, and put it back together. The work is almost completed now.  I can’t tell you what a delight it was to see it today.  (Click on the photo to get a closer look).  

Almost finished!

 

Fort Atkinson Officials Receive Citation of Merit

I’m delighted to be able to share with you that Fort Atkinson’s city manager and the city council (of 2009) have been awarded Wisconsin Library Association’s Citation of Merit award for 2010.

The library board made the decision to make the nomination for this prestigious award as a way to publicly recognize the city’s important role in the library’s expansion and renovation project.

Over the course of the years we’ve been working on this project, city manager John Wilmet’s assistance and experience have been absolutely critical.   His willingness to prepare the city financially was important.  It allowed the project the ability to put together a funding package with a distribution of costs without undue hardship on any one segment.  His experience with fundraising was invaluable.   His support allowed early donors to feel secure in the viability of the project.  John has been through building projects before and is a great resource.  He never appeared to tire of my endless questions.  (He deserves a medal for that.)  John is well deserving of public recognition and thanks for his efforts which went well beyond the call of duty.

City council members deserve thanks as well.  Members participated in planning workshops and asked great questions every step of the way thereby ensuring that the library board and staff always did the necessary homework.  Their role as elected officials is a very important one.

The library board is well aware that philosophical support of a library is easy.   Saying, “I support our library and its important role in our community,” is a relatively safe statement for an elected official.

However, saying “yes” when the approvals were needed and keeping a commitment despite an economic downturn were the actions that allowed the project to move forward.  The forward-thinking leaders of Fort Atkinson deserve to receive statewide recognition for their commitment to Fort Atkinson’s well-being through their support of our library project.  They have set an example for other communities throughout Wisconsin.

Congratulations all on this well-deserved honor!