Library Considering Digital Magazine Access

The Glenview library is considering the possibility of subscribing to Zinio digital magazine service, which would offer patrons unlimited access to hundreds of magazines.  With a subscription, Glenview residents would be able to read these magazines on almost any digital device, tablets, smartphones, or laptops.

According to Diane Comen, the library has spoken to representatives from Zinio and is enthusiastic about the possibility, but said that they require funding to cover the subscription cost.

If you would like this service, send the library a note indicating your support.

Keeping up with the Neighbors

Just as Glenview scaled back on plans for a café in its new library, settling instead on the idea of a vending room, the neighbors may up the ante. Niles says it will look into converting a vending machine room near the library’s entrance into a small cafe. The idea was put forth by Board President Dennis O’Donovan, who said it might help the library keep up with popular bookstores. “We could get some nice couches in there,” he said. Several librarians at the meeting said patrons could bring beverages anywhere in the library as long as they had cups with lids.

Library Plans Headed for Village Hall

Glenview’s library trustees will present plans to the village board on April 1, after a review by the plan and appearance commissions yielded few proposals for change.

Appearance Commission Chairman John Hedrick challenged plans for a small rain garden at the front of the building. Hedrick argued there was too little space for it and that more decorative plants belonged in the front of the new library.

Critics also wondered if the entrance was grand enough for a gateway building downtown and questioned the need for such a dramatic roofline.  The building’s architect defended his design, and no major instructions were issued by either commission.

Members were told not to review the controversial orientation of the building with its entrance at the corner of Lehigh and Glenview roads, nor were officials invited to comment on a decision to turn Prairie Street into a cul de sac.

Why Glenview’s New Library May Not Be Built Soon

In the wake of the sub-prime mortgage crisis, credit is drying up fast, and it may be impossible for Glenview to secure money in the bond market. It’s a shame, of course. A few years ago underwriters were practically throwing money at municipalities. Now, one top business news source reports: “More than 67 percent of auctions in the market that includes cities, colleges, hospitals, student lenders and closed-end funds failed this week, based on data compiled by Bloomberg. The market became unhinged last month, after dealers who supported the securities for more than two decades stopped bidding for bonds investors didn’t want.” 

To see the whole story, go to:  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aHsnG9fVO.44&refer=home

Kennys from Heaven

The Kenny family of Glenview, which made its fortune in construction, has offered to build surface and underground parking for the community’s new library at cost and provide a construction manager on site while the old library is torn down. That offer could save the village at least $200,000.

More Library Modifications

The library’s chief architect has unveiled a conceptual design for a scaled-down building — 8,000 square feet smaller than the library board had requested. Doug Pfeiffer tested his design by drawing in furniture, bookshelves, and other elements of a library, then announced he was very happy with these preliminary plans.

Planners were able to create more space by moving the elevator and stairway column into a vestibule on the north side of the building. The largest public meeting space in the library – the Maynard Room — seats 90, but a new multi-purpose room will accommodate 168, and substantially more if the event calls for standing room. A room for quiet study on the second floor will seat about 16. Computer area has the same capacity as before.

So far, the library has reduced projected costs by $2.8 million. The new design will be reviewed in a special joint meeting of the plan and appearance commissions at Village Hall at 7:30 p.m.  March 19 .   The library  board hopes to break ground in 2009 and open the new building in July, 2010.  Demolition of the Epco building is set for later this year.

Board President Claire McGuire said Village Manager Todd Hileman and Village President Kerry Cummings had promised to expedite the process,” but Trustee Arlene Anthony said she found it hard to believe it was going to take this long.

Fundraiser Peter McNulty says the library has secured $475,000 in pledges.  The board said it was  still about $365,000 short, but Friends of the Library, which will have a gift shop in the new building, said they could cover that shortfall.  McNulty said fundraising efforts would continue with the hope that some amenities that were cut to save money could be restored.

Meanwhile, fans and dehumidifiers are running day and night, but much of the lower level of the library, which flooded when sump pumps failed, is still out of commission.

Library Board Backs Down

Faced with an ultimatum from Village Manager Todd Hileman, Glenview’s library board has presented revised plans for an 85,000-square-foot building that can be constructed for just over $27 million – the amount Village Hall is prepared to provide. Hileman had warned the board to abandon plans for a 93,000-square-foot building or face the loss of village support.

Library Trustee David Johnson called the threat “toothless,” noting that an agreement between the library and village boards does not allow for unilateral cancellation. Still, Johnson said, the library board was trying to accommodate the village.

Library trustees had once hoped to build 103,000 square feet with 240 parking spaces, but the trustees were unwilling to provide financial backing for something that big. The board cut 10,000 square feet and vowed to raise the extra money needed for 93,000 square feet, but its fundraising drive fell far short of its $5 million goal.

Hoping to salvage their plans, library trustees then proposed scrapping underground parking – a costly element. Instead, they suggested a parking deck be erected, and Johnson says Hileman and Village President Kerry Cummings approved that idea.

Later, however, members of the plan commission objected to what they felt would be an unsightly addition to Glenview Road, and Hileman warned the deck would not be acceptable to the village board.

The new library plans show a smaller lobby and less space for staff offices, storage and maintenance. The architects have scaled back on a proposed café, providing only for a “vending area.” They included 180 parking spaces underground and on an adjacent parking lot. Johnson described the new design as “moderately workable,” and said architects would put finishing touches on the new proposal in time for presentation to the plan and appearance commissions on March 16.

Flooding Closes Library’s Youth Services

Crews were set to replace damaged library carpet after two 22-year-old sump pumps failed sometime between closing on Saturday, February 16 and opening on Sunday, February 17. Heavy rains and drains clogged with ice left several inches of water in the library’s basement where youth services are located.

The library barred access for several days as insurance inspectors surveyed damage. Officials predicted the expense of cleanup and carpet replacement would be covered and said most of the youth collection had been moved to places that were accessible to the public by elevator. The main staircase to the lower level remains closed.

Editor’s note: Have library administrators turned out the lights on the current facility?  We can understand not sinking a ton of money into the old gal, but come on!  What are they doing with all their operating funds?  A sump pump is not that expensive — and a no brainer.  Twenty two years is about five years beyond the grave.

One More Worry for the Library

Flooding and politics aside, Glenview’s library board has one more sobering issue to confront – rising operating costs and flat revenues. Library advocates from the Wheeling-based North Suburban Library System met with state legislators Monday in Buffalo Grove to discuss a cash crunch and proposed mandatory Internet filters.

The lawmakers expressed general support for libraries but said Springfield didn’t have much money to spare, and all of those in attendance have voted against the Internet screening requirement. It was approved 63-51 in the Illinois House and is now before the Senate.

“It’s important to note that the state’s support for libraries has not been growing, it’s been shrinking,” said Illinois Library Association lobbyist Kip Kolkmeier. He contends funding is down about 30 percent from a decade ago.

Hileman Warns Library — Get Going or Lose Funding

In a sharply-worded letter to Library Board President Ellen Scholly and Glenview’s executive librarian Vickie Novak, Village Manager Todd Hileman demands the library board scale back on plans for a 93,000-square-foot building to stay within a budget of $27.3 million. He also tells them to scrap plans for a parking deck.

The library board had proposed eliminating underground parking to free funds for a larger building, but Hileman notes the plan commission was not pleased with that idea.

If the library board cannot come up with architectural plans and a workable scheme for surface and underground parking, Hileman said he would recommend that the village board withdraw plans to sell bonds for construction of the new building.

“Based on a review of the most recent schedule and budget, the project is $4 million over the mutually agreed upon budget,” Hileman wrote. “The on-going delay is not only a disservice to the residents of the village but also erodes the purchasing power of the bonds. In my experience, there is no reason that an appropriate plan within budget cannot be developed and submitted to staff within the next 30 days for subsequent consideration by the plan commission.”

Hileman reminded Scholly and Novak that the village board had already signed-off on a plan that puts the library’s entrance at the corner of Lehigh and Glenview roads, closes Prairie Street, and connects the new development to Jackman Park.

That design will allow use of the existing library while the new one is being built, and Hileman promised village assistance in finding parking for patrons during construction. He also urged the library to meet with village planners and make sure the new facility has adequate parking.

Novak has sent a formal response, indicating that she is working with her board and will be ready to make a presentation to the trustees no later than April 1.

Sparks Fly as Plan Commission Considers Library

In a marathon meeting that lasted four hours, Plan Commission Chairman Howard Silver blasted remarks made by the library board’s president in the Glenview Announcements. Ellen Scholly reportedly implied that the village’s lengthy review process was driving the price of a new library up. “I don’t think the library board would be upset if either our owners’ representative or our architects slyly reminded the plan commission that they are running up our meter,” Scholly was quoted as saying.

“I would like to remind Mrs. Scholly and the library board of just who is running up the meter, “ Silver said. “It was this panel that insisted on reworking the traffic flow in the parking lot. Your experts had designed into the plan a number of potential conflicts that could result in head-on collisions and injured pedestrians. We also attempted to rework parts of the building so as to make it more inviting and less industrial looking.

“No, Mrs. Scholly,” he continued. “I don’t think it’s the plan commission that’s running up the meter. It’s a library board that won’t listen to the great majority of Glenview’s 44,000 citizens who say they don’t need or want a 93,000-square-foot edifice. It’s a library board that would design a huge, private second-floor board room for itself and generously-sized offices for its staff but will threaten equipping the new building with used furniture because of a crunch of funds. It’s a library board that has the audacity to put a For Sale sign on the library, much like Macy’s did to Marshall Fields and, God forbid, Sam Zell might do to Wrigley Field. That library’s name belongs to the people of Glenview, not to the highest bidder.

“And so as I open this case tonight, I invite, actually I dare the owner’s rep to come up here now and slyly remind us of how we are wasting your money. I will also remind Mrs. Scholly and the library board of one of those Confucian sayings that you can find in your own library stacks: ‘He who points a finger at someone else at the same time points three back at himself.’”

“Mr. Chairman, is that your statement?” said an uneasy Commissioner Allen Ruter.

Silver said it was.

“Certainly as the chair you have the prerogative to issue that statement, but you don’t speak for me, and I regret that you did that,” Ruter said. “We all have our feelings about the library, and I regret that a tone like this has been set before we have this very important discussion. I think the library staff and our board are acting out of sincerity and passion, and we certainly have had disagreements. I respect your right to have your opinion. It is, however, not mine.”

Silver said he felt obliged to speak because the plan commission had been publicly attacked.

Commissioner Steve Bucklin agreed with Ruter. “I never go into one of these meetings with an adversarial attitude. We’re all volunteers. We want what’s best for our community.” Then, in defense of the plan commission, he added, “Good things will take time to build, and I don’t believe anyone’s running up the meter on purpose.”

Not to be left out of the opening fireworks, Commissioner Peter Brinckerhoff said he didn’t agree with everything Silver had said, “but I am concerned if anybody thinks that our motivations are less than trying to get to the best possible project.”

Down to the Dull Details

The fireworks behind them, commissioners settled in for a presentation from the library’s architect. Randy Gibson described plans for a parking deck to provide 194-226 spaces. He had originally recommended 240 spots, but to reduce construction costs the library board scaled back.

Gibson tried to keep the commission’s focus on whether to build a two-story deck or a 1.5-story structure with the lower level below ground, but Brinckerhoff wouldn’t take the bait. “I appreciate that you’re trying to confine the argument,” he told Gibson, “but there is a broader question of whether we want a parking deck on Glenview Road.”

Gibson insisted it had to be built that way – with the new library facing Harlem – so the old building could be used while construction was underway. Chairman Silver thought maybe the library should move to the old Dominick’s site or to some other location so the new building could face on Glenview Road, and Brinckerhoff suggested the board build half the library at a time to eliminate the need for a move while providing a new building in the best possible location.

Discussion will continue at the plan commission’s next meeting, February 12. After Tuesday’s meeting, Ellen Scholly was overheard apologizing to Howard Silver. She said she had been misquoted by the Announcements