Is this the face of the new North Peoria branch of the public library? That’s one idea in the library’s $35 million plan:
A proposed new 35,000-square-foot branch would cost $11 million, and include a computer lab and large children’s area. Szynaka suggested a vacant building, such as K’s Merchandise, which is going out of business, could even be retrofitted.
I suppose it’s fitting for the suburbs to have a plain-vanilla building for their library. Still, it’s a shame that civic structures warrant no special architecture anymore. Architecture — especially for civic buildings — was supposed to inspire and delight; now most buildings are “designed” more by engineers than architects, always with efficiency being paramount and aesthetics being an afterthought or add-on. The library deserves better.
On the one hand, I appreciate their willingness to consider reusing an existing building. But that building was designed to be disposable; libraries should have an air of permanence. In short, it should look like a library. Maybe that’s part of the plan. I’ve called the library and asked for a copy of the consultant’s report.
The most unrealistic part of plan as it was reported in the paper is this: “If staffed more efficiently, library officials believe they can build a new North Peoria branch without adding employees.” All this means is they’re going to take staff from the downtown branch and move them to the North Peoria branch, meaning more work for each current staff person. I doubt the library is overstaffed at the moment; they’re always hopping when I’m in there, and I often have to wait in line at the reference desk. This “efficient staffing” will probably mean a longer wait time to talk to a librarian.
Now, I sound all negative here (hey, it sells papers, right?), but really, other than these two concerns, I’m actually excited about the prospect of the library getting a facelift. I’m a big fan of the Peoria Public Library and would like to see some money and new life pumped into it. Their research materials are excellent and they have a very helpful and knowlegeable staff. I’m looking forward to hearing more details about their expansion plans in the near future.