After almost a year of delays for supply chain issues, the Greenwood Public Library renovation is nearly complete.
Now the library is looking like the state-of-the-art facility officials envisioned when they embarked on a multi-million dollar renovation in April 2021. The renovation of the 2001-built library included major updates to bring the library up to more modern standards, including expanded and updated study rooms, new interactive features in the children’s area, shelving upgrades, and dividable meeting rooms, among other improvements.
The library hired Columbus-based Driftwood Builders for the more than $4 million project. A $3.9 million bond was issued to replace old debt that was coming off the books, which means the renovations didn’t increase taxes. Officials will also spend as much as $500,000 from the Rainy Day Fund. About $265,374 had been spent as of Tuesday, said Cheryl Dobbs, library director.
The construction
The project is now substantially complete and library officials are still waiting for new exterior light fixtures to arrive, along with some finishing touches for the interior, Dobbs said.
Because work and events continued at the library during construction, patrons and employees were inconvenienced at different points. For example, the office staff had to use the community room while the office was remodeled. That meant large groups didn’t have a space to meet for a significant portion of the renovation, Dobbs said.
“There were inconveniences all the time. Our stairs were closed when the lighting was put in, but the biggest thing was the community rooms,” she said. “Supply chain issues were a big deal, as was getting workers. Some subcontractors had low staffing and that affected the project. We had one community room for our programs. We didn’t have to close the library, but there were no spaces to reserve for large groups.”
One of the most extreme examples of supply chain issues came with the bookshelves; the new shelves arrived late last year but the end panels that bind the shelves together arrived earlier this month, Dobbs said.
Though supply chain issues impacted the project, the timing of the bids worked out, as the cost of supplies increased significantly soon after this project’s bidding process concluded, Dobbs said. With relatively low bids, the project was able to stay close to the original plan, she said.
“Other people who went to bid more recently, even six months ago for the same amount of money, they’re getting much less,” Dobbs said. “We’re fortunate on that end of it, our money went a long way. We wouldn’t have gotten all the furniture if the bid would have come in higher.”
The renovation
Among the upgrades, the one with the greatest community impact may be the increased number of meeting spaces and study rooms.
The number of study rooms has nearly doubled — from six to 11 — with space for anywhere from two to eight people in each room. The rooms are private and some of them have a view of Old City Park.
On the east side of the second floor, four pods help provide a new place for students and remote workers to focus on their tasks. Even though the workspace isn’t completely enclosed or in a room, the pods are a semi-private area complete with soft seating, outlets and desks. The pods area was repurposed during the renovation, Dobbs said.
“It was a computer classroom, but we don’t teach computer classes in the same way now, it’s more individualized instruction,” she said.
The new board room features office chairs, a large table and a television with virtual meeting capability. Another large meeting room on the east end of the library’s first floor has a retractable dividing wall that doubles as a whiteboard.
The library also added what officials call a “living room” space, which is a new area where families can meet that includes games for children and a mini-kitchen play set.
“This allows our families who need to meet with case workers and social workers the space to do that. That was long overdue,” she said. “This is a room families can use all the time. When they need a private meeting and have children, that’s the best place.”
There are also new creative spaces for all ages.
In the children’s area on the first floor, an expanded ball run is featured on one of the walls. Using various structures on the wall, children and their parents can direct a ball down different paths.
Opposite the ball run is an Everbright interactive light wall, made of circular electronic light fixtures that change colors as they are turned. By turning enough circles, users can create a pattern or artistic piece. A similar installation can be found at the new Clark Pleasant branch of the Johnson County Public Library, which opened in March.
On the second floor, teens and young adults can enjoy a revamped studio and maker space, which now includes a garage door that can open to increase the room’s size or close to divide it in two.
“The expansion of the studio and maker space will allow us to have a variety of programs, either separate or expanded for one large program,” Dobbs said. “We can have arts and crafts classes or training on how to use the Glowforge.”
The Glowforge allows users work with a laser cutter on wood, acrylic or leather and require training before use, she said.
There aren’t many noticeable changes to the outside of the building, but construction workers did some work on the building’s facáde and roof, Dobbs said.
Patrons may notice quite a few upgrades to the butterfly garden, however. A wide brick path was added, along with lighting and metal chairs and tables to give people a place to sit and enjoy the garden.
An exteriors update still to come is new parking lot lights, which will provide more illumination and match the style of light poles found in Old City Park, she said.
The improvements to the library, both inside and out, are hoped to make it a destination for Greenwood residents for years to come, she said.
“Having these spaces meets patrons’ needs, whether they’re coming to work for the day or coming with family or to study, it’s a place they can have what they need,” Dobbs said. “We’re able to improve these spaces and make them work better. It improves the perception of public libraries.”
