Glencoe Public Library: Up for Renewal

The Board of the Glencoe Public Library has engaged the Chicago architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) to create a master space plan for the aging library building. The plan, to be completed by the end of 2024, will create a coherent vision for addressing known building issues and for a potential renovation of the library’s interior spaces, grounds, and infrastructure.

The selection of SOM followed a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) issued on February 26, 2024. Nineteen architectural firms expressed their interest, fifteen submitted responses to the RFQ, and three finalists were interviewed. The Board reached its decision to hire SOM on April 29. Responsible for designing such libraries as Chicago’s Chinatown Public Library, the Billie Jean King Main Library in Long Beach, and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, SOM was selected for its comprehensive services and its interest in bringing a valued public space in line with current and future needs.

“At a time when spaces for learning and gathering are rapidly evolving, libraries are more important than ever, and the vibrancy of the Glencoe Public Library demonstrates this perfectly,” says SOM partner and Glencoe resident Adam Semel. “We are proud and honored to partner with Glencoe in charting its future through this master plan.”

With an eye to an eventual renovation of the library, the master space plan will provide the planning, design, and cost estimates for a three-tiered plan that will respond to different budget scenarios:

• a minimum budget that sees a renovation to improve the layout and use of the lower level and provides for an immediate response to capital repair and maintenance costs as identified in a 2021 capital needs assessment;
• a moderate budget that achieves the minimum budget items, renovates the main and second floors and the mezzanine, and provides for a planned response to the anticipated capital repair and maintenance costs for 2027-2031 as identified in the 2021 capital needs assessment; and
• an ideal budget, which would achieve the minimum and moderate budget items and add to the existing building.

Community input will be sought at several stages of the planning process. The resulting plan will prioritize improvements while being sensitive to the historical integrity of the structure and its context within the village. Sustainability will also be a consideration.

“We know that Glencoe library patrons like the warm and welcoming ambience of the building as it is now,” says Andrew Kim, executive director of the library. “Any future renovation will preserve historical features that give the building character while adding new functionality and flexibility. We also hope to add a few new favorite features.”

Situated in the heart of downtown Glencoe, the library was built in 1941. Over the years, it has seen several renovations to keep pace with changes in patron use, technology, and emerging service patterns and needs. The last major renovation, completed in 2001, added about 20% more space and featured a new preschool area on the second floor, the Young Adult/Media Room on the main floor, and the Friends of the Glencoe Public Library’s used book room on the lower level.