New Library Proposal, Part 1: What's On The Table

Earlier in the week I weighed in over on the Clinton Herald forums on the question of the proposal for a new location for the Clinton Public Library at the site of the existing (shuttered) Harding Elementary School.

That response was a bit off-the-cuff and as I said, uncharitable to the Library Board of Trustees and their long and thoughtful deliberations. It deserves a more thoughtful response.

This then will be the first in a series of posts on the New Library Project. This post will talk about the proposal that the Library Board unveiled last Wednesday. Part 2 will examine the long, tortured history of efforts to get a new library building for the city. And Part 3 will weigh the pros and cons of the current proposal.

First, a bit of full disclosure. I am the immediate past President of the Friends of the Clinton Library, having resigned the post in November. That resignation next to nothing to do with any disagreements I had with either the Friends' Board or the Board of Trustees. It was due to the increasing level of my work and family commitments. I also felt strongly that the organization needed someone else who could step up to give full attention to the matter of making the new library happen.

I also served as an ex officio, non-voting member of the Board of Trustees and participated in all of the planning process that led up to the proposal that was unveiled on Wednesday, December 6. I will remain as active in that process although no longer in any official capacity.

So, what is on the table with this proposal? The plan calls for a 42,000 square foot facility on a single level that will replace the current Carnegie Library's just under 28,000 square foot building. In 2003 the City took a five year option from the School Board that allowed the Library Board to examine the possibility of using the closed Harding Elementary School as site or the foundation for a new library building.

In the Spring of 2006 a revised library planning document was produced by the Board of Trustees. This planning document was put together with the help of several open public meetings.

The plan's key points were:

• Room for a 100 seat auditorium and meeting facility.


• Adequate shelf space for the core collection to expand from 119,000 volumes to 140,000 volumes.

In the Summer of 2006 the Board went through a long and competitive process of soliciting the interest and proposals of architecture firms, finally settling on Scholtz-Gowey-Gere-Marolf (SGGM) of Davenport. Greg Gowey also held a couple of open public meetings to solicit input on what users wanted to see in a new building. In addition, Mr. Gowey was given a firm limit of $7 million dollars for a budget.

With those guidelines in mind, Greg Gowey has come up with a wonderful concept that makes terrific use of the green space, the old building and adds an airy yet intimate new addition.

Here are some highlights from the report, the full version of which I have made available here. Either click to open in Acrobat in your browser window or right-click the link and choose "Save As" to download. Warning: 15mb PDF.

Click on each picture below to go to a full-sized image.


Figure 1: Plan of the site. The old Harding School building is shown in dark brown, the addition in yellow.


Figure 2: An aerial view of the proposed building. The roof of old Harding is black.


Figure 3: Exterior view of the covered entrance to the new addition.


Figure 4: Interior view from the main circulation desk facing the main entrance and the lounge with fireplace.


Figure 5: Interior view of the Children's Department showing the different color scheme.