The Rain Stopped But HVAC Is Down Again

This building's issue with systems continue.

The roofing company will be working on our "new" roof again. It is under warranty. We're working with them to resolve the problems permanently. On the flat portion of the roof, there's some pooling of water that seems to be seeping into the seams during heavy rainfall, which, as you know, has been happening frequently.

One of our HVAC units, the one for which we have trouble getting parts due to its age, is not working today. It's a bit warm in Youth Services and Technical Services at the moment, but thankfully the mild weather is to our advantage for now.

Updating the building systems is rapidly becoming critical. But with a price tag in the six figures, the choices for doing the project are grim. Either it's included in a referendum package for voter approval next year or the Library takes out a loan and cuts services drastically to make the payments. No easy answers for our aging and outdated building systems.

Raining on the Check Out Desk

Just when we thought we had the roof issues resolved, another storm rolls through and the dripping begins. At first it was just a drip drip drip sound that we could hear above the drop ceiling. Then it started to really drip in another spot - right onto the Check Out Desk. Our Head of Maintenance is frustrated, since he just fixed more than half a dozen spots that could possibily be causing leaks! Between the size o fthe roof and all of the pipes etc. inthe ceilings, it can be difficult to find the source of a leak. The water runs down a pipe and leaks across the building from the actual source.

Please bear with us at the Check Out Desk, as the staff will be working around the Maintenance people trying to get to the source of those leaks!

Macy's Shop for a Cause Tickets Available at Finale!

My favorite event of the year is just around the corner! The Summer Reading Grand Finale includes family-friendly fun for all ages, from 1-4pm on the lawns behind the Library.

While you are there, stop by the Friends and Foundation booth to purchase a ticket to to the Macy's Shop for a Cause Day on Saturday, August 27. For your $5 donation to the Plainfield Library Foundation, you receive a coupon good for 25% off on August 27, online and in stores (see tickets for restrictions). It's a great way to save money on back-to-school items while supporting your library.

Tickets are on sale in the Library through August 27.

"New" Reference Desk First Change of Many

If you've stopped in the Library since last weekend, you may have noticed changes. The long, low, built-in Reference Desk is gone, removed by the Maintenance staff and a volunteer (Thanks, Tyler!) and replaced by what used to be half of the Youth Services Desk. Sheets of plastic divide the Original Library Room into two separate rooms, one still accessible to the public, holding the magazines, local history and newspapers as before. As you go down the main stairs, you see the vacant space left by the removal of half of the Youth Services Desk.

This is the first step in the Library's Design on a Dimetm style project. The changes are geared toward continuing service and collections to meet the community's needs until 2015. Why focused on 2015? Well, the first possible expansion referendum date being considered by the Board of Trustees is November 2012. It takes about 24 months from groundbreaking to grand opening for most libraries. That makes the earliest possible library expansion open in 2015, giving us 4 years to try to keep making due and shoehorning things into the space we have.

More changes are coming, as we prepare for new, tall shelving and relocation of existing lower shelves. The construction aspects of the project will begin after Summer Reading Grand Finale, August 6 but disruption to public areas will be minimal.

Look for the next round of changes after the weekend!

Cooling Down Inside

A temporary fix has been made to the air conditioning. The temperature on the upper level of the Library is going down.

On par with the kind of day it's been, several offices were still not getting any cooling once the fix was made. Fortunately, a simple but time-consuming reset of thermostat modes corrected the problem. Cool air is flowing into all parts of the building again!

More A/C Issues at the Library

The Library's air conditioning is not functioning on the upper level of the building. The lower level is still cool, though.

The part necessary to fix the problem is not readily available. In the meantime, the service technician is attempting a temporary fix while we wait for the part. With the system being over 20 years old, breakdowns are becoming more frequent. With the anticipated weather for the next few days, we'll be thankful to have even a temporary fix.

Stay tuned for updates!

Plainfield Library Needs Another Nimmons, McClester or Stratton

After reading this American Libraries column, I started thinking about the Plainfield Public Library's rich history of bequests. The generosity of three families made our Library what it is.

Ebanezer and Celeste Nimmons left $25,000 to the Village of Plainfield "if the town shall have organized a free public library" to establish, equip and operate a tax-supported library.

George and Marietta McClester left a charitable remainder trust to the Village of Plainfield "to secure a proper and suitable site and cause to be erected" a library building. Any funds remaining following the building could then be used for maintenance of the library building.

The Village established the McClester-Nimmons Village of Plainfield Free Public Library in 1925. In 1926, the Library opened its doors, in a small, frame building on the south side of Lockport Street.

In 1940, the remainder of the two estates was used to purchase the property at 705 N. Illinois Street and build a new 2,700 square foot library. The McClester and Nimmons names can still be seen, carved in stone above the former entrance to the building that opened in 1941, now the Original Library Room.

Fannie Stratton left the remainder of her estate, a 160-acre farm, to the McClester-Nimmons Village of Plainfield Free Public Library. The farm was operated by the Library from 1954 to 1988, for additional income. Proceeds from the sale of the farm were used to help construct the 1990 addition to the Library and for the build out of the lower level in 1996.

The Nimmons, McClester and Stratton families left a lasting legacy to Plainfield with bequests that allowed our Library to grow into the vibrant community hub it is today.