It's actually happening, the new joint library is being built! My two new bosses and I got to don hard hats and take a tour. Tara, the new library director for the community college, and Teresa, the branch manager for the public library, gave me the tour. This and the new classroom building are both LEED certified. The new library sits under enormous, sweeping wooden trusses. The footprint is 25,000 square feet, cavernous compared to our present digs. The south wall is entirely glass. The roof is a rainwater collection system for the land lab, and our nearest neighbor on campus is the new Natural Chef program (looking forward to much better lunches than the vending machines offer!).
There will be a very large meeting room, and a computer lab that is nearly as large. There will be two fireplaces and lots of comfortable seating. It's all hard to imagine while it is still mostly concrete and steel, but it was very easy to get excited.
This last image is of the study rooms at the west end, something we have not had before. Up in the air still is how the library will be staffed. The economic turndown has affected governments just like it has companies and individuals. The college and the county are pooling money for staff, but neither organization has much to spare. I am hoping for one of the new reference spots and have been recommended for one. So I'm particularly anxious for this issue to be resolved. Of course, as they say, life happens. Just a few hours after we were in here dreaming, a construction worker soldering gutters at the old courthouse not four blocks away, set the 1881 Chatham County Courthouse on fire. All five floors were gutted to the bricks. How this will affect the library, we do not know. It is a tragedy at many levels. Fortunately, the building was evacuated safely and no one was hurt, but until the county fully understands what they have lost and what it will cost to replace/rebuild, our uncertainties will continue. The poet Rilke urged his protoge to "live the questions now". Guess I'll get to a little bit longer.
It's actually happening, the new joint library is being built! My two new bosses and I got to don hard hats and take a tour. Tara, the new library director for the community college, and Teresa, the branch manager for the public library, gave me the tour. This and the new classroom building are both LEED certified. The new library sits under enormous, sweeping wooden trusses. The footprint is 25,000 square feet, cavernous compared to our present digs. The south wall is entirely glass. The roof is a rainwater collection system for the land lab, and our nearest neighbor on campus is the new Natural Chef program (looking forward to much better lunches than the vending machines offer!).
There will be a very large meeting room, and a computer lab that is nearly as large. There will be two fireplaces and lots of comfortable seating. It's all hard to imagine while it is still mostly concrete and steel, but it was very easy to get excited.
This last image is of the study rooms at the west end, something we have not had before. Up in the air still is how the library will be staffed. The economic turndown has affected governments just like it has companies and individuals. The college and the county are pooling money for staff, but neither organization has much to spare. I am hoping for one of the new reference spots and have been recommended for one. So I'm particularly anxious for this issue to be resolved. Of course, as they say, life happens. Just a few hours after we were in here dreaming, a construction worker soldering gutters at the old courthouse not four blocks away, set the 1881 Chatham County Courthouse on fire. All five floors were gutted to the bricks. How this will affect the library, we do not know. It is a tragedy at many levels. Fortunately, the building was evacuated safely and no one was hurt, but until the county fully understands what they have lost and what it will cost to replace/rebuild, our uncertainties will continue. The poet Rilke urged his protoge to "live the questions now". Guess I'll get to a little bit longer.
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