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The construction is complete and the shelves are filled.  The year long renovation of the Drake Public Library is now complete. This past year was a wonderful, and exhausting, experience for me. Overseeing the renovation of this beautiful, historic building was an honor. And, I am so proud of results! If you haven’t had a chance to come by, you really should. We started with the idea of adding a reading room in honor of Bill Swab.  Bill was a long time patron and left a considerable memorial donation to the library for this purpose. 

A top floor was added to the north end of our building that now houses the periodicals and non fiction collection. A beautiful glass floor inlay is an important part of the design. Comfortable furniture and a working fireplace adds warmth and ambiance to this beautiful space. Next door to this room, you will find the new Genealogy Room. Across the rotunda, we have created two separate spaces, a Maker Space and the Small Conference Room. Both of these rooms have unique historic touches and are available to the public to use for programs and meetings. 

The main floor has a beautiful raised ceiling that showcases the glass “floor” from the upper Reading Room. Our beautiful, historic desk has been refinished and a small study room is available for use by the public. Our young adult section is now located in it’s own area on the south end of the main floor, with cafe tables and seating now available.

Our children’s area got a much needed freshening up, with a new color scheme, layout and fun furniture.  Enjoy the new middle school area during our after school program or join our Little Listeners storytime group each Wednesday at 10:30am. Our Children’s Librarian, Krisitn Craver and her staff are available after school for crafts, games, homework help and other fun activities for children in first through sixth grade. 

Throughout the building, you will see a fresh new look with new paint, carpet and shelving.  Comfortable seating and improved lighting help Drake Public Library a wonderful spot to spend time reading, researching or getting together with friends.  We will be having a “Come-N-See” open house this Saturday, October 6th starting at 10am. Everyone is encouraged to stop by and visit the library! 

JeNel Barth

Drake Public Library Director

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It is a busy and exciting time at the Drake Public Library as we prepare for the library renovation that will begin in September.  The project involves an interior remodeling that will convert an existing double height space, also known as “the glass floor” that is currently under-utilized, into a newly accessible, separate floor.  The added floor will allow for the creation of a reading room which honors the wishes of Bill Swab, who left a memorial fund to the library for this purpose.  We envision this space as a beautiful and comfortable space, with soft furniture, a fireplace, periodicals and a small portion of the book collection available for the public.  A place to relax, read, work or perhaps visit with a good friend.

We are proud that a design has been created that incorporates pieces of the historical glass and steel floor stacks.  Pieces of the glass floor panels will be used as a beautiful, decorative inlay in the new floor of the reading room and portions of the steel stacks will be utilized throughout the main floor as display pieces.

The current meeting room on the south side of the building will be divided into two spaces, one large conference room and one smaller room that will host groups of less than 20 people.  These spaces will be divided by a partition wall, topped with clerestory glass windows with historic photos of the Centerville area as part of the design.  This will be quite a showstopper and we are very thankful to Lisa Eddy and the Appanoose County Historic Museum for helping our architect find just the right photos to add to this piece.

We are also going to be redesigning and renovating the lower level bathrooms and are planning on adding a main floor bathroom.  This is an important aspect of the design so that we can maintain ADA compliance and update our facilities’ functions.

There will be study areas found throughout the building and the library’s layout will be reconfigured just a bit in order to create a better flow for patrons and staff.  The Genealogy collection will also be moved to its own space to make it more accessible to the public.

During these renovation, the Drake Public Library will be housed at a temporary location, the former Mr. Movies business next to the mall’s movie theater.  Be on the look out for information regarding the timing of this move. We will be moving as much of the collection as possible to the temporary location and we will continue to be open Monday through Friday, 10-6 and Saturday, 10-2.  Any materials that do not get moved to the temporary location will be in accessible storage.  If a patron wants an item that hasn’t made the move, they can put the item on hold. A staff member will then collect the item and contact the patron… just as if someone else had the item checked out.  We know that it won’t be perfect, but we are working very hard to plan on providing excellent customer service to our patrons during this time.

Our future looks pretty amazing as we look toward the completion of this renovation. In the meantime, the staff and I invite your continued support for the Drake Public Library in our temporary space as we strive to keep our community’s library a welcoming center for all.

Thanks for your support,

JeNel Barth

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