Bye-Bye, B&N, Illinois Library Will Move into a Former Bookstore
Jennifer Pinkowski -- Library Journal, 01/09/2008
• Better location
• Most fixtures donated by B&N
• Lots of new program space, plus café
A northern Illinois library will move into a space vacated by Barnes & Noble—and it's planning to keep many of the elements that have made B&N so popular with readers, including the café. Next month, the Rockford Public Library (RPL) plans to start reworking a 23,000-square-foot space for its new East Side branch, which will replace the much smaller Northeast branch. The move relocates the five-branch system's busiest library from the back of a bilevel strip mall to a stand-alone building in a centrally located shopping district. Moreover, Barnes & Noble is donating to the library most of the bookstore's fixtures, including shelves, desks, seating, and a checkout counter, which will help to reduce costs. The B&N relocated to a larger space in the local mall.
RPL bought the building for $3.175 million, and estimates another $1.5 million in upgrades before the new library opens, perhaps in late December or early January. "We're very excited," spokeswoman Emily Hartzog told LJ. "The design is very open, and the visibility is huge. We're going to be able to have program and community rooms and computer rooms that are separate. In a small branch, it's like a one-bedroom apartment."
Converting the bookstore into a library won't require too many changes, said Hartzog. Some elements RPL needs the bookstore didn't have, including a programming room, meeting space, staff offices, and a place to return books and handle holds. "Some of that can be retrofitted, but we may need additional bathrooms," Hartzog said.
One of the most popular B&N features is, of course, the café. Patrons have overwhelmingly urged that this feature remain. But unlike at B&N cafés, the wireless Internet at PRL's javashop will be free.A spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble wasn't sure whether there are other libraries around the country moving into B&N spaces.
