Library Buildings around the World

Tarradiddle Players, the professional touring company; Community Involvement Program, and a full scope of education classes for
both community and schools. Children's Theatre also works in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, with programs that address
important issues in the lives of young people.
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library began more than a century ago as a treasured repository of knowledge. Although humankind has
evolved to read, explore and acquire knowledge in many new ways since then, one important feature has endured: Our services
remain free to all who come to us with a desire to research, learn and experience. Today, libraries must remain nimble and
responsive to the changing needs of our customers. Through the evolution of communication technology, there has never been more
information available to more people in human history. We act as a guide through that universe of information, providing access for
those who don't have it, and collaboration for those who do. We also provide the building blocks for understanding that information,
through the development of literacy, skills for success, and community connections.
WHO ARE JOE AND JOAN MARTIN?
Joe and Joan Martin have been two of Charlotte 's most passionately committed and inspirational residents, individuals who
personify everything ImaginOn strives to be. Through the generosity of Bank of America, their support of the arts and education in
Charlotte and beyond is recognized and honored in the facility’s formal name – ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center.
Joe, a champion of racial and gender equity, enjoyed a heralded career with Bank of America, retiring in 2001. He is author of two
books: Fire in the Rock, a novel about growing up in the segregated South, and On Any Given Day, his personal and touching
account of living with ALS. Joe touched many lives – as a father, a mentor, a grandfather, brother, confidant, civic and church
leader, and husband. Joe passed away on July 1, 2006 . He remains an inspiration to us all, in our work and in our lives.
Joan’s commitment to our community has touched many lives as well, through her involvement in PTA, scouting, non-profit
organizations, and learning programs in public schools. For 25 years, Joan has been a devoted leader of the Learning Center and a
teacher at Christ Church kindergarten. She carries many titles: mother, educator, grandmother, tutor, leader, and wife.
ImaginOn is proud to be associated with Joe and Joan Martin, and our mission will always be to uphold their ideals of service and
commitment to young people and to the community.
(http://www.imaginon.org/About_ImaginOn/default.asp)
Grand Rapids Public Library, Grand Rapids, MN – USA 2003
The historic Ryerson library was restored and the Keeler Wing addition was stripped to its skeleton frame and rebuilt in the largest
improvement ever undertaken on a library in Michigan. Now the two buildings of the Grand Rapids Public Library flow together.
The Beaux-Arts classical library in rusticated Bedford limestone presides over Veterans' Memorial Park. Classical ornamentation—
a festooned entablature, a modillioned cornice with anthemions—add to the library's formal dignity. The library was the gift of
Martin A. Ryerson (1856–1932), a prominent Chicago industrialist who was a Grand Rapids native and grandson of Antoine
Campau, one of the city's earliest pioneer settlers. Aware of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge's distinguished library designs in eastern
cities and in Chicago, Ryerson himself probably selected the Boston firm to create his library for Grand Rapids. The Keeler Wing
addition wrapped around and connected to the rear of the Ryerson building but disregarded its design.
In 1997 voters of Grand Rapids approved a millage to improve the city's libraries. A large portion of the millage, coupled with
private donations, funded the remaking of the main library more to the twenty-first-century community's liking. To get there the
addition was reconnected to the historic library, reskinned, and windows added to make it compatible with the older building. Now
the Keeler Wing rests on a masonry base that resembles the stone of the historic Ryerson building, limestone and glass replaced the
concrete and tan brick exterior walls, and windows rise in three-story bands. But all attention focuses on the historic Ryerson
building. The library's original entrance was restored and a lofty atrium connects and integrates the 1904 and 1967 structures. The
renovated and restored main library places Grand Rapids in the forefront of a national library renaissance.
(http://sah-archipedia.org/detail%2Fcontent%2Fentries%2FMI-01-
KT14.xml?q=agent%3A”Shepley%2C%20Rutan%20and%20Coolidge”)
Columbia Public Library, Daniel Boone Regional Library, Columbia, MO – USA 2002
The Columbia Public Library is the main headquarters for the Daniel Boone Regional Library in Columbia, Missouri. The building
was made possible through a $22 million bond that was passed by the citizens of Columbia. The structure was completed in 2002,
and now offers stunning views of Columbia and the University of Missouri from the translucent entrance tower.
The library board members chose a New York based architectural firm,Holtzman Moss Architecture, to transform the location at
Broadway and Garth Avenue. The library was constructed on the same piece of land as the old library, and was able to utilize the
steel framework as homage to the predecessor. In addition to the steel framework, a chandelier was re-installed by the same
electrician who had installed it in the previous building in 1970.Though the new building introduced modern, lively architecture to
the traditional, college town setting of Columbia; an attempt was made to retain pieces of history.
The project was created by architect, Nestor Bottino. Bottino created an exterior infused with color from the natural resources used
to construct much of the building, such as rosy granite, red clay blocks, and “peach and cream” sandstone. The interior is a mélange
of blues, purples, greens, oranges, and more, while pine wood beams cross overhead. The library boasts a large 102,000 square feet.
The creation of the Columbia Public Library did bring about some turmoil. A significant amount of tax payers protested the
building because they felt their tax money had been misused. The cost of the structure paired with the high profile New York firm
caused many to question the reasoning behind the decisions. The library board members followed the steps necessary to ensure the
usability and longevity of the Columbia Public Library, and as a result, a stunning, lively piece of architecture was created to bring
literacy to the public.
(http://lis60001-access2informationdrr.wiki.kent.edu/Columbia+Public+Library,+Daniel+Boone+Regional+Library,+Columbia,+Missouri)
California Western School of Law, Law Library, San Diego, CA – USA 2000
….The design phase of the project concentrated on melding the programmatic needs of the library with the aesthetic vision
of the architect and law school community. Several constraints influenced both areas. First, the Board of Trustees made it clear
that the $9,000,000 appropriation for the building was firm. Second, the 12,500- square-foot lot put severe limitations on
the footprint of the building. The main goal for the exterior was for the new building to serve as a visual link between the two
existing campus buildings, one of which is a late 1920s Italian Renaissance style building, the other an early 1990s Post-Modern
building. These buildings sit on diagonal corners of a intersection; the new library is on a third corner. The building, with its
finishes, details and colors emulating the Italianate style but in a modern vernacular, is very successful in meeting this goal.
The old library’s interior was dark, crowded and unappealing, so an important aesthetic goal was to design a building with a feeling
of light, space and professionalism. The new building has reading spaces offering panoramic views of the downtown and the bay.
Stack and reading areas have both direct and indirect lighting. Wide aisles are scattered throughout the building. Cherry wood is
used on some interior walls and on the specially designed tables and carrels, imbuing a warm, professional look. Stack end panels
are a combination of cherry and laminate, bringing a very finished look to the stack areas. Green, burgundy and gray-toned fabric,
laminates and woods are used throughout the library and in the staff offices and work areas…. (Phyllis C. Marion)
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