The Barrington Area Library will undergo extensive renovations if the plans are approved in February. (Michelle Stoffel/Tribune)
The Barrington Area Library is eyeing $5.7 million in renovations that officials say would modernize the library – focusing more on technology and building more community space.
The aging building and the changing ways people use libraries have led the library board and staff to consider renovation plans on the 33-year-old building.
“Our goal is to re-imagine the entire space, making it easily adaptable to new usage and service trends, while providing our patrons with a flexible and welcoming environment,” Board President Donald Minner said in a release. “Ultimately, we will transform a 1970s-era building into a public library for the 21st century.”
Under the renovation plans, there will be a shorter walk between the front door and the service desks and easier access to second floor. Patrons will be able to pick up materials 24/7 and drop off books in a drive-through area.
Meeting rooms will be redesigned for better acoustics and more technology will be added similar to the library’s Smart Room, which is outfitted with presentation and web conferencing technology.
More space will be created for children and high school students.
“It’s a holistic approach,” said Library Director Detlev Pansch. “A lot of it has to do with maximizing usable space for the public.”
The renovation is led by the need to repair the building’s mechanical infrastructure, which would cost between $800,000 and $1 million alone, Pansch said.
With the library board already looking at kicking up construction dust in the building, they felt it was the perfect opportunity to make bigger changes, he added.
The library tried in 2008 to undertake a major renovation through a referendum, but residents voted that down.
“We regrouped and the board felt the best path forward was to see what we could do with the means that we have, using the reserves we have built up to do the renovation,” Pansch said.
No taxes will be raised to fund the renovation.
The library board will likely vote on the project in March.
Construction wouldn’t begin until the fall or winter.
