Indian Trails Public Library previews $14.4 million building renovation ahead of opening – Chicago Tribune

A larger and more technological Indian Trails Public Library soon will open to the public, as crews put the finishing touches on a $14.4 million construction project that replaced almost everything at the original Wheeling-based library except for steel frames and concrete.

Officials at Indian Trails Public Library, which serves residents in Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Prospect Heights and Wheeling, said the new building is about 60,000 square-feet and features new additions on both floors.

Floor-to-ceiling windows down long sections of the new building should brighten the library for patrons, who also will find more computers and technological features than at the old library, which closed in March 2016, said Executive Director Brian Shepard.

Once the new building opens to the public April 10, patrons also will find 3D printers and an 82-inch touchscreen, along with power plugs and USB ports at each of the new desks, booths and tables.

"All of the major features of the building changed," Shepard said.

Library communications manager Susan Dennison said during a media tour of the new building March 31 that the construction project is set to finish on schedule with most of the new amenities up and running by the April 10 opening date. Some of the technological additions may not be ready until the fall, she said.

But library patrons may also never want to step inside the new building because of a new checkout service.

With the addition of a drive-through window along the north wall of the new Indian Trails Public Library, customers can check items out online or through the phone, and then pick them up and drop them off directly from their cars, officials said.

Library officials also said the redesigned parking lot should be simpler for residents after crews built a separate parking entrance and exit along with 46 new spots.

"There were too many decision points," Shepard said of the old parking layout.

Construction work on the new Indian Trails Public Library began after voters approved a referendum in 2011 that laid out financing for the multi-million-dollar project. Officials at the time said the original library, built in 1981 and expanded in the 1990s, couldn't meet the needs of the 67,000 residents the library district serves.

Along with better natural lighting and some energy-efficient lighting upgrades, the new building also includes eight new study rooms where officials used to place books, DVDs, video games and magazines.

Study rooms will be available in the middle part of the library on both floors, officials said.

rwachter@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @RonnieAtPioneer

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Indian Trails Public Library previews $14.4 million building renovation ahead of opening - Chicago Tribune