Vernon Area Library reopens May 28

The Vernon Area Public Library main building will reopen for public access on May 28, following completion of a 12-week, $1.3 million renovation project. 

Patrons returning after Memorial Day will find a dramatically different interior, which includes a new self-service café, a quiet reading room with a fireplace, and new dedicated areas for teens, early readers, and group study, among other improvements. The public restrooms were entirely refinished. New shelving and seating contribute to the library’s new, more contemporary look.

The overall footprint of the 20-year-old, 50,000-square foot library building has not been changed, but some interior walls were moved to create approximately 1,775 square feet of new public space from areas formerly used as storage or staff workrooms. 

During the renovations, continued access to library services and materials was available to patrons at a temporary location in the library’s Annex building. The 10,000-square-foot Annex, located on Indian Creek Road directly behind the main library, is known to longtime area residents as the "old library"—it was the library’s main location from 1979 to 1993, when the current building opened. 

Library services in the Annex close at 5 p.m. on May 21 to allow staff to move the 20,000 items located at the temporary facility back into the main building.

The renovation represents the completion of projects outlined in a 2010 library facilities plan approved by the library’s Board of Trustees. No further major renovations are planned at this time. A library strategic planning process is currently underway and is expected to be completed this fall. The strategic plan will guide decisions about the library resources and services that will fill the library's updated, flexible space in the years to come.

The cost of the renovation was covered by existing funds in the library’s budget. The Friends of the Vernon Area Library group funded new audiovisual equipment and a gallery hanging system in the meeting room. A private donor provided funding for the fireplace in the quiet reading room. No new loans, bonds, or tax rate increases were used to pay for these improvements. 

About the Vernon Area Public Library District

The Vernon Area Public Library District serves a population of 42,900 within a 29-square-mile area that includes Lincolnshire, Prairie View, and parts of Buffalo Grove, Long Grove, Riverwoods, Vernon Hills, and unincorporated Vernon and Ela townships. For more information about the library and its services, visit http://www.vapld.info.