Finishing touches needed to complete Rogers Public Library
Posted on Sunday, January 1, 2006
ROGERS — The physical work began in August 2004, but no one really knows when the staff at the Rogers Public Library began dreaming of a larger building. After a year and a half of construction, a bigger, better library is almost complete.
The biggest change, librarian Leslie Knieriem said, is the children’s area. It was moved to a new location and has almost doubled in size.
The new children’s library now includes a separate story time room that’s used several times a week, facilities manager Barbara Schneider said. The circulation desk was moved into the Cass Hough Memorial Hall, across from the main entrance.
Part of what used to be the children’s library is now Teen Scene, a section for teenagers in sixth through 12 th grade, young adult librarian Shellie Savoy said. Before, teen literature had only one shelf in the adult library. Now teens have an area complete with chairs, tables and six computers.
Although the library collection is always growing, the only materials purchased for the new spaces will go to the Teen Scene, Knieriem said. Books, CD’s, DVD’s and games have been ordered.
A new section of nonfiction for teens also has been added. Grant money will pay for some teen books in Spanish, Savoy said.
People probably didn’t realize how crowded the library was, Knieriem said. A full library shelf appears to be only about two thirds full, she explained. The extra space is needed so books can be reshelved easily. It also makes it easier for patrons to find books. "We were at the point where we had to shift entire stacks when we got a book back," she said. As a result, books were getting lost. Since new shelves have been added, books that haven’t been checked out in years are circulating again.
There’s also more room for mini-displays. Books that are grouped together in a small display are usually checked out quickly.
Non-fiction and reference materials are also getting more use, she said.
The top shelves and many bottom shelves are empty, which makes books more accessible to patrons.
Patrons don’t see the expanded work area, Schneider said. Space for the librarians to process books was a critical need.
In the children’s library, storytime has been well attended and programs for older children have been popular, children’s director Sue Ann Pekel said recently as she watched Santa greet some of her young patrons. Mothers chatted with each other while preschoolers gathered in front of a rack dedicated to picture books. Computers line a back wall. The new children’s library has been opened since last summer. Both the community room and the conference room are open and available for non-profit groups. The form to reserve a room in now accessible on the library Web site.
Programming for young adults includes a monthly craft project, a game night with the help of Hollywood Video’s Game Crazy staff and movies. Movies are shown on a new big screen in the community room.
A financial aid workshop with financial aid officers from Northwest Arkansas Community College is scheduled for Feb. 18.
The adult section of the library was expanded into part of the former children’s library and the reference books and reference librarians are located in what was the old community room.
Librarians are still waiting for a few more shelves and signage that will help patrons find their way around the new space. Sometime in early 2006, the Rogers Library Foundation will host an informal re-opening event, spokesperson Maureen Cover-Bryan said. "We want everyone to feel at home in the remodeled sections of the library," she said, "and want we want everyone to feel free to ask whatever questions they have."
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