Closing book on old Nokomis public library

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

A worker removed books from the library in preparation for the renovation project.

When the renovated facility reopens in 2011, it will be about 40 percent larger and include new technology and some energy-efficient features.

By KEVIN DUCHSCHERE, Star Tribune

Last update: September 29, 2009 - 4:47 PM

After getting by for years with cramped and inconvenient quarters, the popular Nokomis Library in south Minneapolis has closed for a yearlong renovation project that promises more space and resources for its devoted users.

Undergoing the first such renovation since the Minneapolis library system merged with Hennepin County's in 2007, Nokomis will be redesigned and wind up nearly 40 percent larger when it reopens in early 2011, said project manager Lois Lenroot-Ernt.

Neighbors immersed themselves in the planning process every step of the way, filling the library's meeting room in all sorts of weather to lobby for bigger reading areas for kids and teenagers, more computers and even preservation of the library's signature hanging sculpture of brass and bronze.

"It really is the cornerstone of our community," said Tina Sanz, a neighbor who participated on the citizens' advisory committee and uses the Nokomis branch at least a couple of times a week.

A 4,300-square-foot addition on the library's north side will accommodate many of the new features. They include a large multipurpose room on the main floor for story telling, meetings and programs. The old meeting room was in the library's basement.

The renovated library also will offer the latest in environmental design -- windows that maximize daylight and reduce the need for artificial lighting, geothermal wells to heat and cool the building, and a rain garden to manage storm water.

"It's going to be bigger, more high-tech and greener," said Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, who represents the Nokomis area.

McLaughlin added that the project kept a Hennepin County Library promise to Minneapolis when the library systems merged -- that funds approved by voters for city library improvements would stay in the city. The Nokomis renovation is funded with $5.2 million in city funds and an additional $1.8 million from the county for environmental improvements and other touches.

The stone, wood and glass library was built in 1968 to reflect its legendary surroundings. Its angular roof was intended to recall the teepees described in "The Song of Hiawatha," the Longfellow poem in which Nokomis is said to be Hiawatha's grandmother.

The library's "Wind and Water" sculpture, which will be hung again when all the work is done, was designed by a Macalester College artist to represent nearby Minnehaha Falls.

Sanz, an assistant Minneapolis city clerk, said the community has always worked hard to maintain the library. When it was threatened with reduced hours in 2004, neighbors held a large garage sale and raised $5,000 to keep it open longer in the summer, she said.

To accommodate Nokomis users while the library is closed, McLaughlin said that an extra day has been added each week at Roosevelt Library and that service has been expanded at East Lake Library.

The county library system is busy with other projects as well. The Excelsior Library and Northeast Library in Minneapolis are slated for renovation, and new libraries in Maple Grove and Plymouth will open next year.

Nokomis "is a beloved library, heavily used by a lot of kids in that neighborhood," McLaughlin said. "Now we're going to do a once-in-a-couple-generations renewal. I think people will be thrilled when they see this."

Kevin Duchschere • 612-673-4455

Recent Local + Metro stories

Officers behind junk fax scam face Kan. sentencing - September 29, 2009

Officers behind junk fax scam face Kan. sentencing - The president of a Florida consulting firm convicted in a massive fax blast scam blinked back tears Friday as he was sentenced to 68 months in prison for his role in defrauding thousands of small business owners across the United States, Mexico and Canada. More