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Thursday, January 28, 2010

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Check out the new Staples library

Books find a new home

By JENNIFER STOCKINGER

Staff Writer

STAPLES - The Staples Public Library is getting out of the dark.

Library personnel have been busy moving materials this week, from the basement of the old Staples Government Center - a place with few windows to bring in natural light - to its new home in the recently completed Staples City Hall building at 122 Sixth St. N.E., Staples.

The library will reopen at 10 a.m. Monday at its new location between the old and new Highway 10 corridor. City hall staff moved into the building the previous week and opened this past Monday.

Staples city administrator Nate Mathews said the city has provided space for the library for years. Mathews said the city hall and library were located in the Staples Government Center, which was the old hospital, since the mid '70s. The city had been looking for a new location for about 10 years.

Staples City Hall and the Staples Public Library have a new home and are no longer housed in the Staples Government Center. City hall staff moved into the new building the week of Jan. 18 and this week library staff and volunteers have been moving their materials into the new building. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls

"It was bad," Mathews said of the government center's condition. "There was no ventilation or hot water. The windows would fall out. The roof leaked and there was a lot of asbestos in there. It's bad.

"It would have cost too much money to fix. So the council purchased this land for a new building."

Mathews said the old building will be demolished in 2011.

Mathews said the 10,000-square-foot city hall building cost $2.5 million. The city received a $420,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Education's Library Facilities program that helped fund the library portion of the building.

Ellen Peters, branch manager of the Staples library, said the new location will be a nice change for library patrons. Peters said not only was the old building dilapidated but the entrance to the library was dangerous. Patrons and library staff had to walk down a ramp to get to the entrance door of the library, which was icy and dangerous during the winter months, said Peters. The building also was not handicapped accessible.

Ellen Peters, Staples Public Library branch manager, and David Rickert, a volunteer, Wednesday walked into the new library. The new library will open Monday. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls

Peters said the new location will offer refreshing natural light that will improve the library's overall atmosphere. Peters said the library also will be more convenient for all patrons to get to.

Peters said the new children's area has a railroad theme and is circle-shaped with wooden benches that will be upholstered.

The Friends of the Staples Public Library raised nearly $30,000 to toward furnishings and other items at the new library.

Gloria Palmer, president of the friends' group of about 30 members, said the friend's group plans to purchase a bench for the atrium, a bicycle rack, material racks, special lighting and the cushions/upholstery for the children's area.

"We are ecstatic, thrilled, about the new library," said Palmer. "It's such a wonderful asset to our community. Libraries are for everyone. They're for the young and the old, the poor and the rich and for the educated and the uneducated. Everyone uses the library."

Gail Honek and Cindy Klein stacked books on the shelves at the new library. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls

Viretta Neidhardt, former Staples librarian of 16 years who retired in September, said the library celebrated its 100th anniversary this past summer and the new location is a wonderful gift.

Neidhardt said the library became part of the GRRL system in 1997.

Noting good patrons over the years, Neidhardt said the library has served more than 7,500 people in the Staples area with more than 24,000 visitors a year.

"We've had a lot of traffic at the library," said Neidhardt. "It's always busy and now the people will be able to enjoy it even more with a better location."

Neidhardt said the library collection size is close to 20,000 items, with total circulation of close to 80,000 items a year.

JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.

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