Dakota County will ramp up its ambitious remodeling of libraries this year, with the Apple Valley, Hastings and Lakeville locations up next.
A $5.4 million, seven-month remodel of Galaxie Library in Apple Valley will start next month.
In the fall, the county will spend $3.6 million on Pleasant Hill in Hastings and another $5.8 million on Heritage Library in Lakeville.
Margaret Stone, director of Dakota County Library, which operates nine facilities, said the renovations are part of a long-range plan that recommends renovations on a 12- to 15-year cycle to adjust program space for changing needs.
The county regularly sets aside funding to pay for items in the long-range plan.
Wescott Library in Eagan was renovated in 2009, followed by Burnhaven in Burnsville in 2010, Farmington Library in 2013 and Inver Glen in Inver Grove Heights in 2014.
For Galaxie, traditionally one of the county’s busiest locations, work will include reconfiguring meeting and study spaces, moving the children’s collection and drive-up book drop, and adding a multipurpose iLab and an automated materials-handling system, which patrons will be able to see through a large window.
“I can see the poor custodians now … they’re are going to be washing that window all the time,” Stone said, then laughed. “Kids — and adults, too — will be able to stand there and look in and watch their book go along a conveyor belt to be sorted. It should be a lot of fun.”
Built in 1990 as part of the county’s Western Service Center, Galaxie underwent minor remodeling in 2004.
Stone said she’s most excited about expanding the county’s popular iLab, a space that gives patrons access to high-tech tools and opportunities for hands-on learning.
“The walls will be glass, so people are going to watch and see what people are creating and working on,” she said. “And I think that’s just going to be very exciting. That space can also be used for demonstrations and classes.”
THE NEW iLABS
The county rolled out the first iLab at Wescott in July 2016. Patrons reserved 1,608 hours in the first six months of operation, Stone said.
“It’s constantly busy, so what we did recently is we picked the most popular pieces for the libraries that had space and we put them there,” she said.
3D printers continue to be the most used piece of equipment at Westcott, so they have been added at Pleasant Hill, Heritage, Robert Trail in Rosemount and Wentworth in West St. Paul. Apple iMac computers and Adobe Creative Suite were also brought into the mix.
At Farmington, patrons can working on sewing projects with the addition of Janome Schoolmate sewing machines.
All iLab equipment and software is available free of charge. Programs, also free, help patrons get acquainted with technology and inspire ideas for new projects, Stone said.
“So, eventually, as we remodel libraries, we’ll be putting in a size-appropriate iLab,” she said. “Remodels don’t happen every year, even though we’re having a string of them right now. We’re kind of catching up.”
INTERIM LIBRARY
Work on Galaxie will start in February. In preparation, the library will close on Jan. 29. An interim library will open in the Western Service Center atrium at about the same time.
A small collection of popular titles will be available for adults. Services will include holds and returns, a printer and copier, and Chromebooks for use on site.
The renovated Galaxie is expected to open around Labor Day.
Work on the Pleasant Hill and Heritage libraries is in the design stage. In October, bids will be solicited and construction contracts awarded. Both libraries will close in the fall and reopen in the summer of 2019.