Within the next four years, two Wake County libraries will open in Wakefield and Wake Forest.
The Wakefield library will be the Northeast Regional Library at Forest Pine Drive and Green Elm Street at 20,000 square feet and many amenities. Groundbreaking is anticipated for this coming November; it should open in January of 2016.
The complete renovation and expansion of the Wake Forest Library on East Holding Avenue is planned to be complete in the spring of 2018.
Terri Luke, the senior library manager for facilities and security, was the speaker last week at the annual meeting of the Friends of Wake Forest Library, and she discussed the new library building and renovation program just getting underway after a halt during the recession.
Luke said the plans for the Northeast Regional Library were 95 percent complete when the county stopped all construction plans late in 2008 because of the economy. Currently, she and other staff members are revisiting the specifications for items such as the fabric for chairs, given the changes in the industry in the last six years.
Friends members were pleased to hear that Yvonne Allen, who was the manager for the Wake Forest Library for several years and is now the manager at the Garner Regional Library, will be the manager at Northeast.
The regional library is planned for a hilltop with a stream behind. The building will have full banks of windows for light and the view. The area to the left of the entrance will be for children and youth; the area to the right will hold the adult collection. There will be 35 computers, internet, five self checkout stations, a youth programming room, a conference room, a study room, offices and work areas for staff and bathrooms in both areas.
The Wake Forest Library will be closed because, Allen said, the plans for the expansion will leave only one wall standing and the roof will be removed. She had been ready to move all the books and shelving, had already rented space, when construction was halted was halted in 2008. Planning for the expansion will begin early in 2017, and this time patrons will be asked to use the Northeast Regional Library while the work is underway.
During last year’s annual meeting, Wake County Library Director Michael J. Wasilick said the Wake Forest expansion was second on the construction list after the Northeast Regional. By this year, however, Luke said a new ranking by the county committee pushed it down to number four.
Luke also addressed the question of the handicapped doors which was brought up last year. The county decided against installing the wiring and push buttons for automatic doors because they would have cost $14,000, money that would be lost during the expansion. There will be handicapped doors added during the expansion as well as new bathrooms.
One of the library system’s current projects is standardizing the offerings and programming across all libraries, but Luke said there have been a number of exceptions made for Wake Forest because of its Friends, the only such organization in Wake County though popular in other counties, and its history of support that included organizing its town-supported library in 1961.
For example, the Friends purchased an Apple TV, Ipad and stand that is used constantly during children’s programs to help children read along with the librarian. It was used during the Friends meeting for Luke’s PowerPoint about the Northeast Regional Library.
The Friends have also recently donated books for children’s programs. The group raises money through a used-book sale, and there will be a used-book sale next spring and an art auction in October.
Last Wednesday, Kathleen Ross was re-elected president and Harriett Edwards, Carol Pelosi and Jeanne Fredrickson were elected to the board of directors.
