More computer stations, expanded children’s area and separate meeting room, a new Teen Zone, an outdoor reading area and an expanded Smith Library of Regional History are only a few of the amenities the new library will offer.
Probably of most interest to library users, however, will be a vastly larger parking lot and a drive-up book return as well as a drive-through book checkout window.
The most striking feature from the outside is the tower rising over the main entrance at the left side of the façade. That tower will be lighted and Head of the Oxford Branch Rebecca Smith said she is proud of the fact that the library was able to obtain the globe formerly housed in Shideler Hall on the Miami University campus.
“I like the idea of having the globe. It relates to a world of learning,” Smith said.
The large, open area on the second floor will house the adult collection and will include the Miami and Western murals as part of the décor.
Smith also said the Old Main stained-glass window on display at the current branch will also be hung at the new facility. She said she has had many people ask about it and assures them, “It will be coming with us.”
Planning for the new facility took more than two years, and Joe Greenward, director of the Lane Libraries, is confident they got it right.
“I started (as director) in 2011 and not long after I started I met with the mayor and city manager. We probably started with the planning in 2012,” Greenward said. “The design team met. We got community input at three community meetings. One meeting dealt with site selection and this was the overwhelming choice. We had a general programming meeting to see what our customers wanted to see in the building and we had one to show off the design.”
Mixed into those meetings was a display of sketches and ideas in the current library building, allowing people to not only see what was being considered, but to comment, Smith said.
Walking in the main entrance recently the size of the space was striking, even though currently stacked with construction materials. Straight ahead are what will be the circulation desk and the stairs to the second floor. On the left is a wall of windows where raised tables, café-style, will be set for laptop users and along the stairs will be in-house computers for public use.
The self-checkout area will also be to the left.
The staircase will have an interesting addition, too. Lane Library has contracted with a company that produces the glass lining for the stairs embedded with shredded discarded books.
“We are using shredded discarded children’s books for a splash of color,” Smith said. “They usually just use their own catalogues, but we talked to them about using children’s books.”
The large area to the right of the entrance will be the library’s DVD, new books and large-print books collections. Greenward said most users of the large books are older patrons who will appreciate having those books close to hand without having to go to the second floor.
The expanded children’s area is on the first floor and includes an activity room for children’s activities, although larger ones may require the other meeting rooms in the building.
Smith said the décor for the area will be based on the area, blending rural and Oxford themes from farms to Uptown buildings.
There will also be child-sized restroom for use by the youngsters, something Smith said reflects their focus on children.
Something new is this facility will be a Teen Zone, also on the first floor.
“We have never had a dedicated teen area before,” Smith said. “We will have three computers. Talawanda High School students created a mural for the back wall.”
Another first-floor feature will be access to an outdoor reading area on the south side of the building where patrons can go outdoors in an area surrounded by plants. It will be closed off and not be an exit from the building but an amenity variously referred to as a “Reading Garden” or “Reading Patio.”
The Smith Library of Regional History is located on the second floor of the new facility, approximately tripling the space available for the service currently and offering separate archives and work room areas as well as a reading room.
It will also have a unique fire suppression system designed the remove oxygen from the room to stop a fire, rather than using water, which would damage delicate historical documents and papers.
There is no definite date for moving into the new library building but they plan on a grand opening in mid- to late-September and are making plans to minimize to time neither will be available.
“We will try to keep the current location open as long as possible and we will make a provision for pick-ups, but there will be some time we will have to close in order to move over here,” Greenward said. “We are trying to do our best to serve the community with very little down time.”
Smith added she is working the system’s Bookmobile staff to try to arrange time in Oxford during that period in order to lessen the impact.
In May, voters who reside in the Fairfield, Hamilton, New Miami, Ross, Talawanda, and portions of Edgewood school districts continued their support for the Lane Libraries by passing a 0.75-mill renewal levy.
The levy only covers operating expenses, so it does not support the Oxford building project. The levy will generate $2.5 million annually for the library.
In addition to the Oxford branch, the Lane Library system operates two other branches — one in Hamilton and one in Fairfield.
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