Its your place, enjoy' Reddick Library marks remodeling completion

Fred Schlipf has been a consultant for the construction and remodeling of more than 125 libraries in Illinois, including the Reddick Public Library in Ottawa.

Sunday afternoon he arrived a half hour before the start of a short ceremony that marked the completion of the $2 million nine-month floor-to-ceiling remodeling of the 1975 Reddick Library building.

Ive been looking around all the corners, he told The Times. I havent seen it since work began, and the results are very interesting.

There had been significant problems, he said.

The heating and ventilating system was in bad shape, and the floor of the adult department was hummocky.

The gradual upheaval of the adult department cement floor had become so bad the book shelves were almost in danger of tipping over.

Schlipf was pleased with the transformation.

It seems to me the community got tremendous value for its money because so much was done that really wasnt radical but more in the way of reorganization and rearrangement, he said. Its amazing what a really good interior design operation can do with simply reassigning spaces.

The redesign was by the librarys architectural firm of Engbert Anderson Design in Milwaukee.

Schlipf commended the library for its new quiet reading room, new teen room and the division of the single public room that had been in the library annex.

Originally posted here:
Its your place, enjoy' Reddick Library marks remodeling completion