Here at the library, the past few weeks have been all about the finishing touches. Once carpet installation was completed, the new furniture started arriving. Our new furnishings offer a variety of seating options and work areas for all of our patrons. Try them all and find your favorite spot! Whether you're looking for a spot to read the paper and chat with fellow patrons or a more private space to curl up with a good book or newspaper, we have the chair for you! We've also updated the new computer lab and chandelier area with brand-new tables and chairs, and installed new individual cubicles for private study. We have an updated and expanded space especially for teens! Check out these comfy chairs, work stations, and "pods!" You'll love the new furnishings in the Children's Room! Fun, kid-friendly, and sturdy, with plenty of seating for families attending storytime and brand-new tables and chairs for checkers, coloring, and crafts! We're excited about our updated furnishings! Coming up next--new signs for the library. Photos coming soon!
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Our new furniture is being delivered this week! A few pieces arrived yesterday--here's a sneak peek! Our furniture gets A LOT of use, so the new pieces are not only fresh and fun--they are sturdy and built to last! We love the kid-friendly pieces in the Children's Room and the fun chairs in the Young Adult area!
This is only the beginning! Additional chairs, work surfaces, and more will arrive soon! In the meantime we have temporary tables and chairs set up in various locations around the library for your convenience. We are BACK! We opened at 9 a.m. today! Everything has been running smoothly so far! It's going to be a little noisy around here for a while--work continues on Area 2 (new computer lab, meeting room, & office) and the new entrance--but we are definitely in the homestretch! Due to continuing work in Area 2, our public computers will be unavailable until the middle of June. If you need access to a computer, the Superior Senior Citizen Center at 1527 Tower Avenue can provide access (senior citizens only, please), or the three branches of the Duluth Public Library are also good options for computer access in the Superior/Duluth area. Here are five reasons to LOVE our new, updated space! 1. Expanded Youth Services & Young Adult areas Our expanded Youth Services area is fantastic! Featuring new book bins, new shelves, an expanded Storytime space, new family restroom, and new reading nooks, we have plenty of space for our youngest patrons and their families. Finishing touches, like new, kid-friendly furniture, will be coming during the next couple of weeks. Stop by and check out the new space! 2. Lower shelves! Our new shelves are much lower than the old ones, which makes it easier to browse and access materials--no more standing on your tiptoes to reach a book on the top shelf! The lower shelves allow for better sightlines across the library, making it much easier to see our beautiful Gawboy murals, as well as allowing for improved security throughout the library. 3. New CD drawers! Patrons already love our new CD storage drawers! We've received feedback that they are a great improvement over our previous CD shelving, and we love them, too. 4. Displays of new items! Our new display shelves make it easy to locate our newest materials, whether you're looking for the latest fiction, non-fiction, large print, or paperback books, audiobooks, or DVDs! You'll find these display shelves next to the Circulation Desk, so take a look at our newest arrivals! 5. Self-serve hold shelves! Do you have an item to pick up? Now you can help yourself! The self-serve hold shelves are found on the back side of the new Circulation Desk, alphabetical by last name. For further differentiation, we also include the last four digits of your phone number. Feel free to grab your materials on the shelf and bring them to the Circulation Desk to check out. Once the self-checkout is up and running, you'll really be able to save time--no more standing in line at the Circulation Desk! (Of course, if you prefer that we grab your holds for you, just ask--we're happy to pull them off the shelf and check them out for you.) We've made a ton of changes, but we are here to help! If you have trouble finding something, please let us know. We are happy to help you find what you're looking for! And thank you for your continued patience as we finish up our renovation!
Week three of our closure is coming to an end, and it's been an incredibly busy week here at the library. The biggest news, of course, has been the delivery and installation of the new shelving. We love the new shelves, and we think you'll like them, too!
Library staff and the crew from Northern Business Products have been working hard at the all week installing the new shelves. As soon as the shelves started going up, the librarians teamed up and started moving books onto the new shelves! Other exciting sights at the library include the construction of two new rooms! In the photo below on the left you'll see the beginnings of Circulation Manager Kyle's new office. On the left, our new "hands-on" meeting room--a gathering space that will be perfect for crafters, quilters, and other "makers" to meet and work on their creative projects. These rooms are located along the wall where the old Circulation Desk used to be. When the renovation is completed, the public computers will be set up in this area. Last, but CERTAINLY not least, the outside canopy came down today! When the renovation is finished, the library will have a new entrance. Today the crew took the first step in this part of the project by demolishing the canopy over the library's current entrance. The new entrance should be finished sometime this summer. To see a video of the canopy's demolition, visit our Facebook page.
Coming up next week--the final week of our closure--is putting the Fiction collection on the new shelves, finishing up carpet installation, and preparing to reopen on May 29! We can't wait to share the upgrades with our patrons. As the second week of our month-long closure comes to an end, it's time for a sneak peek at what's been going on at the library. Progress is happening throughout the building! Check out the new book bins and reading nooks in the Children's Room! Kids of all ages will love hanging out in this space. This area was the former home of the Circulation Desk and our Circulation Manager's office. After the renovation, this space will have new life as a "creative" meeting room, computer lab, and new office for the Circulation Manager. You can see the beginnings of the meeting room on the left side of the photo above. At the other end of the space, a new office for Kyle, our Circulation Manager, is being constructed. Our public internet computers will be set up between the meeting room and the office. Also in progress--installing a TON of carpet. Once the carpet is installed, our new shelves will be delivered and set up. As soon as the shelves are ready, library staff will begin returning materials to the shelves!
So while we are making lots of progress, there is still a long way to go. Thank you for your patience during the closure. And remember, pickup of holds is available Mondays and Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m. The library will re-open to the public on Tuesday, May 29. Stay tuned for more updates! We're having some trouble with our regular website. Until we fix our site, we'll post updates on this page, Facebook, and Twitter. Here are a couple often-used links:
MERLIN - search library catalog: http://merlin.nwls.lib.wi.us/ Overdrive e-books, audiobooks: https://wplc.overdrive.com/wplc-northernwaters/content Badgerlink: - search magazines and databases: https://stwi-agent.auto-graphics.com/MVC/ The library is closed for construction April 30-May 28. We are open Mondays and Thursdays 4:00-6:00 in the lobby to pick up requested materials. Please see below for more information. You've probably already heard about our upcoming closure. We're done our best to spread the word, and it's almost time to lock our doors, roll up our sleeves, and begin working on the most extensive phases of our renovation. This includes removing lots of carpet, asbestos abatement, carpet installation, demolition of the current Circulation Desk, installation of new shelves, relocating to the new Circulation Desk, moving lots and lots (and lots!) of library materials, and more. Our last day open to the public will be tomorrow, April 28. We'll be closed until May 29.
The most important thing you need to know is that you do not need to worry about due dates during the closure. Nothing will be due back to our library while we are closed. Yes, that includes items with a one-week circulation period like DVDs and magazines. It also includes items that you've requested from other libraries and checked out in Superior. If you need to return items while we are closed, the outdoor book return will be available. However, if possible, we ask that patrons hold on to their materials until after we reopen. Why are we asking you to do that? While we are closed, library staff will be moving the entire collection (books, DVDs, audiobooks, CDs, magazines, EVERYTHING) to their new homes on the brand-new shelving, so the fewer items we have being returned, the easier it will be for us to complete this part of the project. So--if at all possible, find a special spot for your library materials and keep them safe until we reopen. But if that's not possible, feel free to put them in the outdoor book return. The other important thing to know is that we will be offering pickup of holds during the closure. Twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays, library staff will be available in the lobby between 4 and 6 p.m. so patrons can pick up the items they've placed on hold. We will continue to receive deliveries from other libraries and you will continue to get notifications when they are ready to pick up. If you're unable to come to the library during these special pickup hours, don't worry--these items will be available for you to pick up once we reopen. What about the new entrance? Well, that's still coming. Exterior work will begin after we reopen (weather-permitting) and is anticipated to be finished by the end of July. But when we reopen on May 29, the interior work should be just about completed. Phone service will be limited during the closure, so if you have questions or concerns, the best way to contact us is via email. Please use the following email addresses and direct your concern to the appropriate department: Circulation: [email protected] Children's: [email protected] Director: [email protected] So as we approach the final phases of the renovation, we just want to thank you once again for your patience during this project. Your continued support have meant the world to us, and we can't wait for you to see the results. Exciting development yesterday--the Gawboy murals are going back up! These beloved murals, painted by artist Carl Gawboy, depict the history of Superior and have been prominently displayed throughout the library for many years. They had to come down during the remodeling project, but now that we are entering the final phases, they are going back up, one-by-one. The Friends of the Library have notecards, prints, and bookmarks featuring the murals for sale at the Circulation Desk. These treasured paintings are a part of Superior's history and we are proud to display them at the library.
Once the renovation is completed, plans are in the works for a new, self-guided audio tour of the murals. Stay tuned for details! Here's a remodeling update! Progress is happening! Here's a look at the new Storytime space in the Children's Room! While we will miss the Storyboat, it just wasn't big enough to accommodate all of our Storytime guests. The new Storytime space has plenty of room for our young patrons and their families. We love the new paint, carpet, and pendant lights! Updated furniture coming soon! After years of being tucked away in the corner of the Children's Room, the Children's Room desk has been relocated to the area between the Children's Room and the expanded Teen Focus area. The Children's librarians will have more space at the new desk, and the centralized location makes them more accessible. Nobody puts librarians in the corner! History buffs will love our new space dedicated to local history research! It's empty now, but in a few short weeks this area will house our microfilm machines, offering easy access to periodical archives like the Evening Telegram. Genealogists will find quiet space for researching their family history with convenient access to local history collections like yearbooks and other items of regional interest. In addition to the four and two-person study rooms, we're also adding a meeting room at the back of the library where the Art Gallery used to be. This meeting room can accommodate groups of up to 12 people. One unique feature of this meeting room is the whiteboard wall, which can be written on with dry-erase markers. How cool is that? Coming up next week--additional carpet installation and possible re-installation of the Gawboy murals! We'll also have more details of our upcoming library closure during the month of May.
Greetings from the construction zone! If you've been to the library recently, you've undoubtedly noticed that progress is being made on several areas around the library. In spite of the chaos, noise, and construction dust, we're doing our best to maintain our services and meet the needs of our patrons. Here are a few photos from the construction zone: Our new Circulation Desk! Workers on stilts! Check out our new meeting rooms--perfect for individuals or small study groups! The library's two public meeting spaces aren't really enough to keep up with demand, so we're adding an additional meeting room in the area formerly known as the Art Gallery. This room will be available to the public by reservation once the project is completed. The Friends of the Library's room is also being worked on and will have a new entrance. Here's a look at the progress on this area: This is just the tip of the iceberg! More updates from the construction zone will follow shortly, including a glimpse at the progress on the new, expanded Children's Room and the new local history room!
THANK YOU to all of our patrons for your ongoing patience. We realize that the library is a noisy, dusty, chaotic place these days--but in a few short months, we'll be able to show off our improved space. Please let us know how we can help! |
Greetings!Superior Public Library has proudly served the residents of Douglas County, Wisconsin since 1888. After 25 years in our current location with no major upgrades, it's time for some improvements! Follow along with our six-month remodeling project, scheduled to be completed in May 2018. Archives
April 2018
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