Eisenhower Public Library staff unveiled the finished product of a $500,000 modernization project Dec. 2 after three months of construction. The project will double the number of private study rooms and create a new space just for teenagers.
The construction project started in July and continued through November, during which time crews built out a new glass-enclosed room that will house a teen study area and moved staff offices to make room for new study rooms.
Also unveiled during the post-construction celebration Friday night was a new room near the main entrance known by library staff as the “The Workshop — Maker Space,” a creative space where patrons can come learn about how to use sewing equipment, die-cutting machines used to make paper crafts and collaborate on other hands-on projects.
The library spent around $500 on the equipment for the room, according to Peggy Tomzik, head of library services, who said the space is still “evolving,” and staff was considering the addition of a 3-D printer sometime next year and other equipment based on feedback from patrons.
“We tried to think of equipment that people want to use but don’t necessarily want to spend hundreds of dollars to buy the machine for their own home,” Tomzik said. “It’s the idea of the community investing in things you wouldn’t necessarily buy on your own.”
There are a few traditional sewing machines in the room, but half of the equipment is wired to computers so patrons can create designs and then see them come to life on cloth or paper. A series of free classes will be held this winter to show patrons how to make personalized greeting cards and scrapbooks and learn how to embroider using the computer-equipped sewing machine.
Past the library’s main room, in the back near the quiet study room, the 675-square-foot teen space was the highlight of the renovation, according to library director Stacy Wittmann.
“Teens have been anxiously awaiting the opening of the teen room,” Wittmann said. “It feels like they naturally want to gravitate toward it. They just seem to want to be there.”
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Decked out to resemble a cafe or a college quad, the room was designed to be in-sync with modern-day teens, with plenty of outlets to charge smartphones, tablets and laptops and funky orange marker board on the far wall so teens can express their thoughts.
Emily Skifano, a 14-year-old from Norridge, said she’s home-schooled, so by the end of the day she’s ready to get out of the house for a little social time with other teens. Sitting in the cafe Friday night with her friend Erin Hill, a 14-year-old freshman at Ridgewood High School, Skifano said she usually has few options for after-school activities.
“We usually go to a friend’s house or hang out at the mall,” Skifano said. “This is my first time (in the cafe) and I love it. I’m going to come here all the time.”
Library staff conducted focus groups with teenagers at Ridgewood High School, visiting other libraries to check out their teen rooms, and talking with patrons to gauge the need for such a space.
“Teens have a lot of pent-up energy after school,” Wittmann said, “and the teen rooms give them a place to let it all out.”
The focus group discussions also brought up the need for more private study areas, which up until now have been in high demand and short supply. During construction, the number of rooms patrons can reserve for meeting, studying and quiet reading space was doubled from three to six, according to library spokeswoman Julie Stam.
The renovations mark the first major construction project for Eisenhower Public Library since it moved into the 43,000-square-foot building at 4613 N. Oketo Ave. in 2008.
The former library building at 4652 N. Olcott Ave. was sold to the Norridge Park District for $550,000, according to library and park district officials, and reopened as a $2.5 million dual-purpose senior center and dance facility on May 21. The sale of the building covered the total costs of the renovations, according to Wittmann.
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.