LINDEN HILLS LIBRARY GRAND OPENING
A festive grand opening celebration to showcase the renovation of
Linden Hills Community Library will take place Saturday, May 18, from 1:00
to 6:00 p.m. The library will be open for business during the event.
A vision for a restored and updated Linden Hills Library began to
take shape almost a decade ago, and the neighborhood has played a
significant role in making that vision a reality. The building has been
expanded and carefully renovated, resulting in a historically intact,
state-of-the-art library that reflects the community of which it is such an
integral part.
The renovation, designed by The Leonard Parker Associates and built
by Meisinger Construction Company, adds public service space by relocating
staff functions and mechanical equipment to below-grade additions at the
rear of the building, topped by terraces, so the original building remains
intact. The front steps have been removed and the main entry lowered to
sidewalk level, allowing access for all people. New landscaping and low
walls that serve as benches replicate the library's original front walk. The
interior's new furnishings, restored woodwork, and improved layout make the
library inviting, user friendly, and now able to accommodate nineteen
computers for public use.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1:00 p.m. on May 18 will kick off the
grand opening festivities, with brief remarks by Library Board President
Laurie Savran, Mayor R.T. Rybak, Councilmember Barret Lane, and others.
Following the brief program, entertainment and activities for the whole
family will include music by the Yo Jimbo Jazz Quartet; an appearance by
"Edith Frost," the first librarian at Linden Hills Library (a.k.a. Rhea
Sullivan); storytelling by students from Lake Harriet School; and a variety
of presentations and discussions on local history topics.
The Linden Hills Library project was funded through the city's
Capital Improvement Program, supplemented by Linden Hills NRP funds and a
State Accessibility Grant. Linden Hills has the distinction of being
completed at the forefront of the "Great Libraries for Minneapolis" program,
made possible by Minneapolis taxpayers who are funding the new Central
Library and a decade of community library improvements. By 2010, the program
will bring all fourteen community libraries into the 21st century by
"building new, restoring old, improving all."
For more information, see www.mplib.org/lh_renovation.asp.
Kristi Gibson
Public Affairs
Minneapolis Public Library
_______________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy
Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more:
http://e-democracy.org/mpls
