Making Progress

Yes indeed, another week has passed and progress has been made both at the Library and in the planning details surrounding the project. I apologize for not getting back to you to set up meetings for the various Task Forces. A few details had to be decided before doing so such as the deadline for the ordering of the furnishings. We have a little longer than expected, namely the end of August, but I would like to plug away on our discussions so that we aren't rushed as the deadline approaches. I met with a representative from Brodart today just to get a feeling for our options re shelving and other furnishings. The upshot is that the Task Forces that will be advising on furnishings and layouts etc. for particular spaces will be the first to have meetings and the others will follow.

We are very appreciative of the coverage that we have received on the new MyFM recently regarding our progress. Rudi recorded a segment before she left on our fundraising campaign and I was interviewed via telephone yesterday. I'll also be a guest on Roger's "Inside Elgin" tomorrow.

Ruth and I will be working on a "booth" that will provide information for our customers. More details will follow. In the meantime, we'd love to know the questions that are being asked from customers as you are serving them. Feel free to come and talk to Ruth or I about them anytime.

Task Forces are Underway

I just wanted to extend a sincere thank you to all of you for signing up for task forces that excite and interest you. If you haven't yet indicated that you are interested in being on one of them, please don't feel that you have run out of time. Just send me an email or see me in person...you know where I hang! Here is the list of Task Forces and people who are on them to date:

Customer Service Model

Effie Lattanzio

Ruth Crocker

Peter Atkinson

Jody Kenney

Terri Scott

Dana Vanzanten

Carol Kim

Paul Blower

Readers’ Advisory

Donna Hanson

Effie Lattanzio

Terri Brzuskniewicz

Cindy Cookson

Holly McNea

Susan Andrews

Dana Vanzanten

Carol Kim

Collections and Move

Effie Lattanzio

Terri Brzuskniewicz

Dana Vanzanten

Paul Blower

Technology

Paul Giza

Tyler Hanley

Effie Lattanzio

Ruth Crocker

Peter Atkinson

Cindy Cookson

Meagan Wilkinson

Dana Vanzanten

Janet DeAngelis

Paul Blower

Carol Kim

Local History

Donna Hansen

Dana Vanzanten

Barb Hoskins

Paul Blower

Adult Furnishings

Donna Hanson

Ruth Crocker

Paul Blower

Study Rooms

Chris Triska

Ruth Crocker

Holly McNea

Susan Andrews

Paula Kielstra

Paul Blower

Marketplace

Effie Lattanzio

Ruth Crocker

Susan Andrews

Paul Blower

Accessibility

Jody Kenney

Peter Atkinson

Paula Kielstra

Carol Kim

Kids’ Spot

Ruth Crocker

Holly McNea

Terri Scott

Meagan Wilkinson

Teen Zone

Cindy Cookson

Holly McNea

Meagan Wilkinson

Paula Kielstra

If I've missed you in a group, please let me know!

Rudi and I are busy working on Terms of Reference for each group. Once these are finished, I'll be setting up meetings as required.

In other news, I visited the In2Space offices today. Jennifer McBride and Cathy Jurjevich showed me a wealth of catalogues and samples of chairs and other furnishings. Jennifer will be sending floor plans indicating seating areas etc. shortly. Task Force members who will be looking at particular spaces will be consulted.

Rudi, Paul Giza and I will be off to our first Site Meeting on Thursday with architects and contractors present. I'll keep you posted.

Plugging Along

I'm going to be regular with the blog posts so you can expect them on Wednesdays. I'll still send a reminder email and a direct link to the post. If you are having trouble opening the blog, please be sure to let Paul Giza know.

As you can see by the photographs above, demolition is well underway at the library. In fact, you may have to spend some time looking at some of these photographs to determine where they are taken. I know I did! Paul Giza and I have scheduled mini site meetings once per week on Thursday mornings so that we can keep informed about how things are progressing and deal with any issues that have arisen.

Yesterday, a hastily assembled group of staff spent a great deal of time looking at all of the service and information desks to determine how to make them most functional and comfortable for customers and staff alike. We sent quite a few changes to Kyle at Chamberlain.

Rudi picked up samples of the finishes that have been chosen for the revitalized library this morning from In2Space so that they can be presented at the Board meeting this afternoon. We will then show them at the staff meeting on Friday morning and will have them available in the Administration area for a while. Please do take a moment to come and see them. We're quite excited by them all and I'd be happy to answer questions.

In an effort to try to be as on top of things as possible, we will be assembling a variety of staff task forces. Decisions are having to be made very quickly and we want to ensure that we are making them with as much information and research as possible. There will be sign up sheets to allow you to choose the task force(s) that most interest you. Please don't be shy....jump in and get involved in the planning process. We need you!!

Finishes

The air was abuzz with excitement in Administration late afternoon yesterday. The Colour Committee members as well as Board Chair, Greg Grondin, gathered. Jennifer and Christine from In2Space arrived with a wheeled cart full of samples of paint colours, carpeting, tiles etc. They carefully laid these out in groupings for us to ponder. We spent two hours swapping and changing our minds and rearranging and we finally came up with two sets of finishes, one for the two top floors and one for the bottom, that we adore. In fact, we'll have to keep Ruth away from some of the tiles as she is quite attached to them. We want to share our decisions with you and will do so at our next staff meeting on Friday, June 17th. Please don't worry if you aren't able to attend the meeting. They will be on display in Administration afterwards for a while and I would be happy to walk you through how we will be using them.

Demolition has begun at the Library. Paul Giza was able to take some photographs of the progress made and he was excited to report that the corkboard is being scraped off the walls with a shovel. The cedar slats on the ceilings have been removed and taken apart and some have even been used to make a sawhorse. The rest will be finished in some way and will become Internet workstations and sign boards outside of meeting rooms.

Let the Construction Begin

I had to pick up some files from the City Hall office this morning and noticed welcome activity at the Library. K and L Construction Limited staff are moving in as of today. The Site Manager is setting up his office and is ready to welcome the crews that will be arriving from another company to remove the asbestos tiles. We hope that this will be accomplished before the end of the week which means that construction itself will begin early next week. Whoo, hoo!!

On another note, the Colour Committee met with Jennifer McBride and Christine from In2Space on Friday to go over options for finishes. This includes carpeting, tiles, paint colours and flooring. An exciting time was had by all. We have another meeting scheduled for Monday to hopefully finalize finishes so that the Contractor can get busy ordering them for the project.