Marengo-Union Library District

4/22/13-The Library received its first reimbursement check from the State Library.  The check covers 30% of the total grant amount - $163,114.77.  The Library, in consultation with its architect, is preparing the bidding documents for the remodeling project.  

2/11/13-The Library received the signed contract from State Library officials.  The Library Board awaits clarification from the State Library on the next step in order to comply with grant requirements.

1/22/13-The Library Board approved the acceptance of a construction grant of $543,715.90 by signing a construction grant contract with the Illinois State Library.  The next step is for Illinois State Library officials to sign the contract. 

6/26/12-The Library Board has hired a fundraising consultant to help raise financial support for the renovation of the new Library. 

4/24/12-The Library received good news about the Public Library Construction Act Grant.  The State Library has determined that we now can include the costs of the purchase of the building in our grant proposal, not just the remodeling costs.  In other words, if the Library is awarded a grant, the award will cover a portion of the remodeling costs AND a portion of the purchase cost of the new building.   

4/13/12-The Library's application to the State for the Public Library Construction Act Grant was submitted.  If the Library is successful in being awarded a grant,  one-third of the costs for remodeling the new Library will be covered by the grant.  There's a lot of competition but we feel the Library's proposal is strong.  Awards will be announced in August, 2012.  If we are selected, and everything goes as planned, we could start the remodeling process in February, 2013 with a grand opening planned for June, 2013.  

2/28/12-Early in the morning, many volunteers helped to bring donated shelving from the Gail Borden Library to the new library.  That evening, the Board reviewed the results of the focus group meetings and met with a professional fundraiser to discuss ways to raise financial support for the new building. 

2/18/12-The Library's architect, Alan Armbrust, met with focus group participants to get their suggestions on the design of the new Library.  There were 40+ participants.  The comments will be shared with the Library Board at the February Board meeting. 

1/24/12-The Board voted on a budget for the remodeling costs of the new Library. The Board also voted to seek a loan to comply with the local contribution commitment requirement of the Illinois State construction grant.   The focus groups are scheduled for Saturday, February 18th.  There are six group sessions planned; they will meet for 45 minutes each.  The planned focus groups are: Friends, seniors, parents/adults, teens, educators, and local businesses.   

12/27/11-The Board met with the architect to discuss the design process.  The Board decided to have several focus groups to obtain additional feedback from the public.  The Library Director will organize and the architect will run the focus groups.  The focus groups will be held in February.  The architect described the state construction grant rules.  This new grant program is a matching grant.  One of the rules requires the Library to have commitments for the local contribution towards the construction costs.  The Library Director and Board Treasurer will come up with several scenarios to obtain the Library's contribution amount  towards the construction costs.  The architect will prepare several draft cost plans for the Board to review.  Based on the information gathered, decisions about the budget will be made at the January 24th Board meeting.    

11/8/11-The Board and architect hosted a community meeting seeking input from community members about the new library.

10/7/11- At a special Board committee meeting, Board members Judi Alden and Dawn Wagner met with Library Director Mary Hanson and Architect Alan Armbrust to plan for a community meeting to discuss the new library.  The community meeting will be held in early November.  More details will be announced soon. 

9/27/11 - At the Library Board meeting, the Board discussed the remodeling project for the new library with the architect.  

8/30/11 - The Library Board approved the contract of architect Alan Armbrust to design the remodeling project for the new library.  A temporary sign will be installed soon at the new library.

6/3/11 - The Library took possession of the former Miceli building on June 3, 2011.  The Library has taken over maintenance of the building and grounds.  

Please direct any comments or questions to Library Director Mary Hanson.