North St. Louis County public library users are about to experience libraries in a way they never have before, at least not in their neighborhoods. Gleaming new or brilliantly refurbished library branches are opening this fall and winter, starting with the Lewis & Clark Branch, located at 9909 Lewis-Clark Blvd. in Moline Acres, on Wednesday, October 14.
The Lewis & Clark Branch is a new structure built on the same site as the old branch. It is larger than the old building – 20,000 square feet compared to 16,000 square feet – with much more natural light and expanded facilities for children, students, computer users and public meetings.
St. Louis County Library Director Kristen Sorth said the changes were prompted by community input, including information gathered at community forums held in the old building on January 30 and February 5.
Before, she said, “there was always a wait to use a computer at this branch.” The old building had 33 computers, whereas the new facility has 57. The public also wanted quiet study rooms, which the old branch did not have; the new building has three.
One thing the Lewis & Clark Branch community wanted, she said, was a business center – and the new branch has one, a first for the system. It includes an instructional lab, where the public can learn about things like computer programs and resume building, and machines that will scan, copy and fax documents.
The new space also has all new tables and chairs – an assortment of extremely comfortable chairs, some that swivel, others built around exercise balls – and a number of wide personal desktops where a student can sprawl out with multiple books. The branch sits across the street from the administrative building for the Riverview Gardens School District, and Sorth said the library intends to expand its existing collaboration with the unaccredited district.
“This is the crown jewel,” Sorth said, while providing a tour of the new facility for The American.
However, a group of preservationists fought this new construction, because it destroyed and replaced what they considered an architectural jewel. The previous building was designed by noted architect Frederick Dunn and included stained glass windows, created by artist Robert Harmon with Emil Frei Studios, depicting Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and Sacajawea.
Those windows were preserved, cleaned and reinstalled in the new facility, designed by KAI Design & Build and constructed by SM Wilson. These magnificent windows provide a centerpiece for the new library. “Before, you couldn’t even tell Sacajawea had a baby on her back,” Sorth said.
In keeping with the Lewis & Clark theme and name, the children’s room has discovery-themed details, including the Big and Little Dipper made out of LED lights. Additional child’s seating in the form of customized canoes was still being fabricated at the time of the tour. The expanded children’s area also has a crafts center and shelving bins designed for the ease of small children.
The project – the first non-residential construction in Moline Acres in a decade – had a budget of $6.5 million and was funded by proceeds from a 2012 tax initiative. It’s part of a multi-year, $120-plus million campaign to renovate or replace 19 branches within the library district. Five additional locations will reopen November through January. More details about the construction projects can be found at www.slcl.org/your-library-renewed.
The Lewis & Clark Branch will reopen to the public 9 a.m. Wednesday, October 14. Next up after that: a radically refurbished Jamestown Bluffs branch, to reopen the first week of November.
