Expansion Photos Nineteen

Oooh... the big day is almost here. This week the shelves are being finished and the new furniture is being delivered and installed. While it won't all be done until we actually move back, nearly everything that isn't at our temporary home is now at our gorgeous, new home. Here are some photos from earlier today:

Here is a portion of the children's area, with new shelving on the left (without the wood end caps which will be installed by Friday, Dec. 2), the four children's computer stations (center), and the board book bin (right) all in place.

Our new meeting room, now with tables and chairs! They are surprisingly comfortable chairs for multi-purpose, meeting room, stackable chairs.

These "not quite ready for prime time" booths that will be part of the Young Adult area. When complete and properly installed, these will make a nice seating area for our teen and college-aged patrons.

Expansion Photos Eighteen

Take a glimpse at our new Children's Area. Miss Jane will be right at home in the bright and fun interior. Check out those fish!

Here is a similiar view, but a little brighter. If you see the shelving unit near the back you get a sample of what some of the furniture will look like.

Now begins the process of putting together all of the shelving units. Something neat about the new library is our entire collection will be availble on the library floor. (No more circulation reserve).

They are alive! Watch as our shelving units get put together and rise towards the ceiling. Look at all the boxes they came in.

Imagine this space filling with library materials. Hardcover, softcover, DVDs, periodicals, CDs, oh my!

Expansion Photos Seventeen

The front entrance is looking bright and cheerful in preperation for our return. The skylights provide extra illumination in the heart of the library.

Here is a view from behind one of the desks at the library. This gives you what the library looks like from a staff's perspective.

Look at all of the sunglight that streams in from the windows. The park and ballfield will be viewable from those big windows.

The circulation desk is ready to go. The lamps wll be unveiled soon and ready to glow for our open house during Midnight Magic.

The shades for the large windows will come in handy during the summer months. Look at how well they can block out the extra sunlight.






We are getting excited! Are you?

Expansion Photos Sixteen

This is the new building profile that will be greeting you when you drive in. With the larger parking lot it should be easier to find a convenient spot place.












The landscaping around the building is underway. Here is one of the paths along the library. Look at how large and deep those paving stones are!












The inside of the library is starting to look a lot more like home. We have ceiling tiles installed, painted walls, trim, doors, and more galore!







The installation of carpet warms up the entire building. Soon this carpet will be getting tested by patrons (and the winter snow).

The old library had a comfortable and familiar feel with all of the mission style wood furniture. The library aims to keep that feeling and you can see that mission style in our new lamps!

Expansion Photos Fifteen

Blacktop! It doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but it really makes the outside look nearly complete, especially in conjunction with the new sidewalks and doors. The exterior is basically down to landscaping at this point, some of which will happen yet this year, but much of which won't really "be seen" until next spring.

On the inside, nearly everything has been primed and much of it has been painted. Lighting fixtures are starting to go up, the ceilings are nearly all installed, and much of the trim work has been added. Things are really moving along! Flooring starts to go in next week.

The latest pics:

The local history and conference room with its fresh paint job and lovely oak trim in place. Also, the suspended ceiling is nearly finished as well!

The "main hall", complete with paint (a little hard to tell because of the lighting) and wood trim. This is going to be a spectacular entry to the library when it is all said and done.

The front of the new building, lacking only the landscaping and the "Mukwonago Community Library" sign on the right side, between the windows. We are not planning on retaining the port-a-potties unless there is a large public outcry to keep them.

A view from the southeast corner, showing nearly the entire building, including the new front entrance (on the right), the old entrance (far left) which will now be an emergency exit, the drive-up book drop, and the staff/delivery entrance (center).

A close up of the drive-up book drop lane, along with the southern end of the building and our new garbage enclosure.

One Thousand Signatures on the New Library Foundation

Thank you to everyone that came to show support for the new library building during our Foundation Signing Event last weekend. We estimate about a thousand people came out and added their signature to the floor.

We heard oooo's and ahhh's over the huge Children's area, the bright new meeting room huge, and the view from the huge windows. If you didn't get to make it take a look at a few of our event pictures. If you did come see if you can spot your signature!

A special thank you to our volunteers and staff who make these events possible!

We had a lot of families come in and sign together!

Now we hope to have a lot of families come in and read together!

Construction Photos: Fourteen

Last time you saw what the inside of the wall structure looked like. Now see how it is coming along with drywall! The drywall installation throughout the building is complete.

The painting and work on the exterior is coming along fine. In the coming week the base course for the new parking lot will begin installation.

If you look at the drywall you can see that some of the walls are being painted. Also see the drop down ceiling framework is installed and all of the site lighting is completed.

The exterior wall and window quality was tested on October 4th. Imagine what the view will be like with those floor to ceiling windows!

The library's front door! Does it feel welcoming yet?

A little pop of color on the walls makes it feel a little more like home. There will be a lot of extra private space for studying and group meetings! We hope you are getting as excited as we are! Don't forget you can see how the new library is going today (October 8th) from 10 am to 2 pm at the Library Foundation Signing.

Want to See the New Library Before It Opens?

If you want a chance to take a sneak peak at the new Mukwonago Community Library on 511 Division Street before it opens, you should come to our Foundation Signing Event.
The new library building is looking great and closing in on completion. It wouldn’t have been possible without terrific support from our community, so stop in to the library construction site on Saturday, Oct. 8 between 10 a.m. and noon and sign the library’s foundation. We want to get as many signatures as we can before we cover the cement foundation with flooring and carpeting. This is a chance for everyone in our community to “leave their mark” on the new library and see it before it officially opens!

Construction Photos: Thirteen

We are fully roofed! While the windows aren't in yet, having a roof on the entire structure will allow the inside work crews to get even busier than they have been. A major milestone reached! Here are the most recent pictures, including some great shots of the tower "cap" being put in place:

The "skeletal" walls of the local history/ conference room (left side) and one of the new study rooms (right side). Sheetrock will start to go up once the windows are received and installed-- hopefully within the next few weeks.

The Director's cage. They assure me it will look very nice, and much less like a jail cell, when everything is complete. We'll see....

The West wall, fully bricked and shingled. Only the windows remain to be installed. Cool!

The tower cap on its way to its final home.

Getting closer!

Almost there. The crane operator was surprised at how smoothly this went. He expected the cap to sway a bit, but it was rock solid the whole way.

A safe landing!

Construction Photos: Twelve

We've got bricks! Always a good sign on a building that features brick from top to bottom. It's not all installed yet-- that'll take a little while-- but we're on our way. Plus, the building is very nearly completely enclosed and the workers have started to install shingles. Soon weather won't be much of a factor for the remainder of the project-- yay! Here are the latest pics:

The masonry crew installing the lower bricks on the northern wall.

Looking east down the "main thoroughfare" from the large bay window on the west side.

The community room, looking north from the lobby entrance. The room will be divisible into several different configurations using a partition system that will be installed later.

The foundation for our garbage enclosure and storage shed. Not the most exciting aspect of the project, but it is important to have somewhere to put your garbage and recycling and to store your garden tools and implements.

A wide shot of the eastern exposure, with the entry tower "cap" on the ground to the far left and the tower itself, waiting for its cap, on the far right.

A close-up of the tower cap. It is awaiting the arrival of the large crane that will hoist it into position on the entry tower.

Construction Photos: Eleven

We have walls! Or at least the beginnings of walls. Soon we'll have a roof, as well. Things are really taking shape over at the construction site and so far we are still on pace to have a grand opening on Midnight Magic weekend. Here are the latest shots:

Here's a shot of the southeast corner. You can see the "outline" of the walls and the peaked "hip" roof is starting to take shape as the crews get the trusses set.

A view from the northeast looking back at the community room (foreground) with the main entry to the left (tower element).

The west wall. some of the plywood sheathing is already in place on this wall. With the sheathing up, you can really see how the big bay window (far right) will look-- it's going to be awesome!

Final shot-- looking down the entryway of the library. This will be the high-ceilinged space that runs from the new front entry to the bay window, the "aisle" leading into the library.