Technology for Everyone

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Amber

In the Library world we talk a great deal about the importance of providing access to technology in our communities. According to the recently released Public Library Funding & Technology Access study conducted by the American Library Association, 83% of Iowa libraries offer the only free access to computer/Internet in their communities. The national average is 67%. More than just offering computers and Internet access, Iowa libraries offer licensed databases, homework help, virtual reference, ebooks and downloadable audio books.

In addition to offering access to these technologies, 81% of Iowa libraries offer training programs on various computer programs. The Cedar Rapids Public Library regularly offers classes for the beginning computer user to using social media and online job applications.

Another important resource for the community is the ability to assist with e-government. This becomes more and more important as our government moves more of its functions online. In Iowa, more than 85% of libraries assist with e-government. We see this regularly in our technology center.

While access to this assistance and this type of technology is an important part of the Library’s mission and what we do, our goal for the future is to offer technology for everyone, not only those who don’t have access. This means if you have an ereader at home, what can we do to make using it with Library ebooks as simple as possible? Or perhaps you own an iPad. What do we have in our Library that will make you want to bring that iPad into the building instead of only visiting us virtually? What kind of technology are people who already have technology looking for in the new library? How can we impact those who already have access but are looking for something more?

We have begun this conversation internally while preparing for our new library building. We would love to hear what you would like to see included. Leave us your ideas here. After all, this is your library.

Changes at the Cedar Rapids Public Library add to Customer Friendly Focus

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Amber

Changes happening at the Cedar Rapids Public Library throughout the past several months have all been centered around the same goal: making our library as customer-friendly as possible. One way in which this has happened is the replacement of the large circulation desk with two smaller service points. A primary tool for making our service better is to have our staff out and available for assisting customers with finding books/cds/dvds, answering reference questions, and providing general assistance.

Another tool we are incorporating into our space is the use of a more retail style display. Our “power wall” is a permanent display which will hold a variety of non-fiction subjects for our customers to easily browse. Instead of spine-out displays as is typical in the library world, this display will feature the book covers. Categories will include areas of interest such as gardening, fitness, and home improvement.

Additional changes continue behind the scenes of the Library, including the implementation of an automated sorting system. This system will allow staff to spend less time checking items in, sorting them into categories, and more time out on the Library floor working with customers or planning programs. Look for this to be up and running this month.

Sustainability at the Library–What are the facts?

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Amber

The Cedar Rapids Public Library Board of Trustees has mandated that the public library will be built to LEED Gold Certification standards as established by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The library design team consisting of the library officials, OPN Architects, Design Engineers, Ament Engineering and Ryan Companies have set this as a minimum standard and hope to achieve the level of Platinum Certification in the LEED Rating System.

The Iowa Energy Code standards are set at a baseline for high-performance public buildings. The new Library will exceed the baseline by 55% and will earn all 19 possible points in the LEED Energy Optimization Credit.

The HVAC system in the new Library will use Geothermal Heat Exchange that will substantially reduce overall energy consumption and the cost of operating the Library. For example, the 1985 Library building’s energy consumption averaged around 100 kbtu’s per square foot. The new Library is designed to consume only 37 kbtu’s per square foot, even though it is approximately 10 percent larger.

The exterior windows that comprises less than 30 percent of the exterior of the building have thermal isolation breaks to eliminate cold outside temperatures being tansferred to the inside surfaces of the frames. The glazing is high-performance, 1″ double-glazed insulating glass with a low e-coating which increases the insulating value and reduces Solar Heat Gain.

The exterior envelope of the new library has been designed to minimize “thermal bridges” and short circuits through the wall assemply. The exterior walls are designed as rain screen assemblies which allow the ventilated wall cavities to “breathe” and cut down and/or eliminate opportunities for mold growth in concealed spaces. The anticipated R-value of the non-glass, exterior walls is R-28.

The Library is designed to take full advantage of Daylight Harvesting techniques while minimizing glare on workstation surfaces through the strategic location of windows, large overhangs on the first floor, solar light tubes, and exterior sunscreens and automatically controlled perforated roller shades that are tied to daylight sensors in the staff work areas. The linear indirect lighting fixtures will use high-efficiency T5 HE florescent bulbs that reduce the watts per square foot consumed by the building. The overhead lighting fixtures will also be tied to daylight sensors that will automatically dim or turn off all overhead lighting fixtures that are not needed to provide adequate illumination to the public spaces of the library during daytime operating hours.

The building will employ several strategies to manage stormwater on the site. Twenty thousand square feet of the second floor roof will be developed as a green roof accessible to the public. The green roof will absorb most of the stormwater that would have otherwise entered the storm sewer through roof drains. The rainwater that falls on the remainder of the roof areas and paved hardscape of the site will be directed to underground water-quality vaults through pervious paving to allow it to naturally drain into the soil. The objective is to retain 100% of all rainwater that lands on the site from all but an unusually heavy storm and preclude any of it from entering the storm sewer system.

The goal of the Board of Trustees and the Library Design Team has been to build a Library that will perform as efficiently as possible, both to reduce the environmental impact and to reduce the cost of maintaining our building. It is with this goal in mind that the team will continue to develop and build a Library that the City of Cedar Rapids will celebrate.

Power Wall

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Amber

The changes continue this month at the Cedar Rapids Public Library at Westdale. The latest change is the addition of a special display known as a “power wall.” This display is currently being built by local carpenters and our own talented staff. When it is complete, it will hold a variety of non-fiction subjects for our customers to easily browse. Instead of spine-out displays as is typical in the library world, this display will feature the book covers. Categories will include areas of interest such as gardening, fitness, and home improvement.

Power wall under construction

Sustainability and Our New, Downtown Library

Posted on January 18, 2011 by pasicznyukb

From the outset, the Library’s Board of Trustees charged the project design group with achieving a LEED Gold rating for the building. While the Gold Rating remains our minimum requirement, we are striving for a Platinum LEED rating. This would be one of only a handful of LEED Certified Platinum buildings in the state and one of the most sustainable libraries in the country.

We are currently working with the Department of Natural Resources to gain approval for a geothermal system for the building. We are also working toward inclusion of a green roof on the project so that our contribution to storm water run-off is neutral – virtually no water reaching the site will go directly into storm drains.

There seems to be some concern with the amount of glass used in the design. Please keep in mind that the photo-realistic rendering you’ve seen only portrays part of the structure. There is actually a fair amount of balance between the use of glass and hard surfaces. The first floor children’s library and the front side of the fiction area are almost entirely rimmed with glass – albeit the highest energy efficient glass to be had with today’s technology. The rest of the first floor and much of the second are hard-walled with some windows. The auditorium envelope is entirely hard-walled save for the front which faces Green Square.

There is also a positive trade off in the use of glass. Daylight not only results in a fantastic library experience, it allows us to use daylight control systems to mitigate our use of electricity. Studies show a savings of 30% to 40% when daylighting control systems are used to reduce electric light usage. At the same time, these controls improve the overall user experience.

Project modeling forecasts that we will receive plentiful LEED credits for energy performance, light pollution, and exterior lighting. Our design team is also optimistic that the project will garner a significant amount of revenue from the Alliant Energy High Performance Building Program.

Sustainability has been a priority for the Board of Trustees and the design team on this project since the beginning, and it will remain a significant factor in the building of our new downtown library.

For more information on LEED Certification, visit the US Green Building Council.

–Bob Pasicznyuk, Library Director

Cedar Rapids Public Library Unveils First Renderings of New Building

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Amber

This is the design of the new Cedar Rapids Public Library. Images courtesy of OPN Architects.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – January 6, 2011 – The first renderings of the new Cedar Rapids Public Library were approved by the Board of Trustees on January 6 during their regularly scheduled meeting. The two images reflect the design of the Library from the front, facing Greene Square Park; one during the day and one at night.

“We are glad to have the opportunity to present these images to our Board of Trustees and to share them with the entire community,” said Bob Pasicznyuk, Library Director. “We are building a state-of-the-art library that will serve this community for years to come. This is another step towards that goal.”

The Library building will cost approximately $25 million. The total project cost is approximately $49 million, including land acquisition and preparation, building contents (books, technology, furniture, etc), professional services, public art, and a contingency fund.

The Library design team includes OPN Architects, Ryan Construction, and members of the Board of Trustees. They meet with the Building Committee of the Board of Trustees once a month to update them on their progress.

The project is expected to be complete in summer 2013.

The building is transparent and gives off a glow during the evening hours. Image courtesy of OPN Architects.

Quick Look at the New Sorting System

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Amber

Another way in which the Cedar Rapids Public Library (CRPL) will be using technology to make the library more efficient and to help get materials back on the shelf a little faster is the installation of an automated sorting system. This system will take all the books, cds, dvds that our customers return and using a conveyor system, check the items in and distribute them in to the appropriate bin for re-shelving.

You can see how the use of incline allows the items to be separated as they travel along. Our system will have a series of bins that are designed for particular areas of the library, or to be transported to another library (Marion or Hiawatha). This system uses the same RFID (radio frequency identification) system that runs our self-checks. It all works together!

Once this system is installed in February, library staff will be able to spend less time pulling books out of bins and manually checking them in. There will be less injury as a result of the repetitive motion this creates. The staff will be able to spend more time doing library programs, reference, and assisting our customers.

Self-Checks Arrive After Thanksgiving

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Amber

This is one of our new self-check stations, without the equipment yet installed.

Prior to the flood of 2008, the Cedar Rapids Public Library had established self-check systems in place. The flood waters destroyed these machines and since that time the library has handled all check-outs personally. Late this month, the new self-check system will be installed at the CRPL West. This picture shows you one of the new stations waiting for the equipment to arrive. This system will be a new Radio Frequency Identification System (RFID) which will allow you to toss all your materials onto the RFID pad and all items will automatically check out–no scanning needed!

Our current set-up includes a large circulation desk. This will move to become a lap-top bar in the coming weeks.

This is one of a series of changes happening at the CRPL West during the next few months. There will be a shift in the way the staff works with patrons, including removing the large circulation desk you see in the picture below and replacing it with two smaller service stations. Holds will be moved to a new self-serve shelf, so customers will be able to find their holds on their own. The current desk will move to the other side of the library and become a lap-top station, perfect for anyone who wants to take advantage of the library’s free wifi.

Changes will continue at the library until the installation of a new automated check-in system in February of 2011. This system will allow the library to get materials (books, cds, dvds) back on the shelf more quickly. We will have a larger version of this type of system in the new downtown library when it opens.

Red Wall Gallery

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Amber

The Corner House Gallery came and installed our new "Click Rail" art hanging system on Tuesday.

The Library has been working to make the CRPL West a welcoming, comfortable and warm environment for our customers. We are making a series of changes over the next few months, one of which officially begins November 1.

The Red Wall Gallery, a specially designed display area in the CRPL West, will open on November 1. The first show will feature three local photographers: Wilford Yoder, Delores Meister, and Jen Johnson.

Wilford Yoder is a celebrated local photographer whose images have been published in books, magazines, calendars, and even used as book covers. He especially enjoys outdoor photography (scenic, wildlife, and travel). He was the North Central Camera Club Council Photographer of the Year in 2003, 2008, and 2009.

Delores Meister has been making photographs since 1981. She is a nature lover who enjoys photographing the mountains, birds, and wildlife of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, as well as the red rocks of southern Utah. She lives in Solon and is a member of the Iowa City Camera Club.

Jen Johnson is a local photographer who has been capturing the essence of her surroundings with her camera since high school. Her series, “Garden Meditation” illustrates the relationship between nature, the Earth, and one photographer.

We will be hosting a reception from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. on Friday, November 5. Please come and see the new space and celebrate the display of public art in the Library.

In the Armstrong Centre

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Amber

There is a transformation underfoot at the small downtown library located in the Armstrong Centre. This 2200 square foot space has been radically changed to accommodate what our customers were most asking for–computers and specific types of materials. These materials include popular books, magazines and movies.

This is the way the downtown location looked prior to the reconfiguration.

This is the way the downtown location looks now!

The library is experimenting with new ways of organizing our books and other materials. One example of this is the forward facing materials you see in these pictures. This is something done in bookstores across the country, but it is still relatively new to libraries.

This is an example of the forward facing shelving we are using at the downtown library location.

These are new dvd holders that allow us to show off our collection of dvds so that you can see exactly what is available

Another change that was made to the space was the addition of three more public computers. Access to free computing is one of the reasons many of our customers visit the downtown location. Realizing that there was more of a need than was being met by the three computers we already had in the space, the decision was made to increase the total to six.

We added three computers to the downtown library location. These three are set up in the front of the space near the windows.

We will look at our numbers to see what is working and what isn’t and adjust our model accordingly. In the meantime, visit the location downtown at 221 3rd Street SE and let us know what you think!

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Category Archives: Design