Mendenhall
Valley Public Library FAQs
Mall Closes: 8/31, 8 PM
New Library Opens: October
5th
New Library Grand opening
celebration: November 7th
When
will the new Mendenhall Valley Public Library in Dimond Park open?
As
soon as we’re moved! We’ll be moving in
September and we plan on opening October 5th - or a couple of days before that, if we can manage it.
Will
there be a grand opening celebration / ribbon cutting / other ceremonial event?
Yes, on November 7th. We’ll announce the time on www.juneau.org/library, through PSAs, on local
media, and on our Facebook page – www.facebook.com/libraryevents once it is final.
Can
I return books between 8/31 and when you open the new Library?
We’d
love for you to hang on to them until we open, but you’re welcome to return
them to the Mall Library until September 25th and then to the new
Library thereafter through the Book Drops.
Where
do I pick up my holds while the Library is closed?
Holds
can be picked up at UAS, the Downtown Public Library, the State Library in the
State Office Building, or at the Douglas Library. You can modify your pickup location online or
by calling 586-5249. You can also modify
holds in person at any of the above libraries.
We’ll
be reaching out to patrons by phone or email who have active holds at the mall
library when that facility closes on 8/31.
What
happened with the Friends of the Library Engraved Brick project?
All
of the engraved bricks (about 850) are up and installed on the entry
walls. They look great! Everyone who bought bricks is welcome to come
try and find theirs as soon as the construction workers are done and off of the
site.
Will
there be bus service to the new Library?
It
seems likely. The current Capital
Transit proposal includes service on Riverside Dr. There are four public meetings coming up to
discuss the proposed changes. They are:
·
August
18th, 5-7p, UAS
·
August
19th, 7-9p, TMHS
·
August
20th, 7-9p, DZ
·
August
24th, 7-8p, Douglas Library
Will
the new library continue selling bus passes & tokens?
Yes; however, bus passes and tokens will not be available in September while we are moving. Please visit Fred Meyer or City Hall (Treasurer's Office) for your September purchases.
How
big is the new building?
About
20,000 sq ft, or approximately double the amount of space that was available in
the Mendenhall Mall location.
How
was the extra space allocated?
Through
many design iterations, public meetings, and research into library trends
nationwide, we increased space allocations for:
·
Public
meeting and study rooms
·
Children’s
room
·
Space
for teens
·
Space
for book and audiovisual collections
·
Casual
reading/studying spaces
·
Public
computing resources (including study/meeting room technology)
Will
the collection be bigger?
Yes! The library has been saving for just this
purpose for many years (primarily from small donations and lost item charges) and
we plan to spend about an extra $100,000 over the next 4-5 years to grow the
collection in the new Valley Library.
Why
not spend it all at once?
Like
most things, books age and eventually need to be repaired or replaced. By spreading the money out, we’re ensuring
that we don’t have a bunch that need to be replaced at the same time later down
the road.
How
is the building heated (and cooled)?
Via
a geothermal heat pump and radiant floor system. A water/glycol solution is pumped through a
closed-loop series of wells underneath the library’s parking lot. At the bottom of these wells there is ground
water that is at a near constant temperature (~44 degrees). That solution, at 44 degrees, is brought up
to the mechanical room where a few degrees of heat is leached off and
compressed into the radiant floor system, which pumps a much hotter (around 110
degrees, varying depending on how cold it is outside) solution through the slab
to heat the building.
Will
staff be able to control the temperature in the building better than in the Mall
Library?
Yes. There are 14 different temperature control
zones in the new library. In the mall, we
(kind of) had 1.
What
is the ceiling made out of?
The
linear wood ceiling is made out of clear hemlock wood and is perhaps the prime
architectural feature of the building.
The slats themselves have a soft black felt backing between them which
is intended to capture sound and prevent it from rebounding down into the
space.
There’s
a lot of wood in the building – is it all hemlock? Is that very smart (don’t you know your
Shakespeare)?
Just
the ceiling, and we promise it isn’t poisonous (but please don’t try to get up
there). All of the other wood in the
building is maple.
How
was the building paid for?
·
$4.7M
– CBJ Voter Approved 1% Temporary Sales Tax Allocation
·
$1.18M
– Friends of the Juneau Public Libraries
·
$495K
– Rasmuson Foundation Grant for Fixtures, Furniture, and Equipment
·
$300K
– Juneau Public Library’s Endowment Fund
Will
the new Valley Library cause my property taxes to increase?
No. None of the construction was funded with
property taxes. The Library does use
property taxes to operate, but operating this building (despite the increase in
space and services) will cost the same or slightly less than it cost to operate
the Mall Library. The cost of rent in
the mall space is projected to conservatively cover new utilities, maintenance,
and staffing.
For
perspective, the total CBJ expense for General Government and Schools in FY16
is budgeted at about 151.1M. The Library
Department (which includes the three public libraries plus the Juneau-Douglas
City Museum) has a FY16 budget of 2.66M, or about 1.8% of total CBJ
expenses. Approximately 10% of the
Library’s budget (about an additional 300K) is covered by grants.
How
long did construction take? Who built
& designed the building?
Construction
began in April of 2014 and is scheduled to conclude in September of 2015. The General Contractor is Dawson Construction
(offices in Bellingham, Ketchikan, Juneau) and the architects are Northwind
Architects out of Juneau and THA Architects out of Portland.
What’s
with the fireplace?
The
fireplace, which burns propane, was part of the original design process by THA
Architects and it is intended to create a living room / hearth-like environment
for reading, study, and occasional programs.
The entire library has a continuum of “loud” to “quiet” spaces, and the
fireplace is at the end of the “quiet” area.
The fireplace was not funded in the bidding process of this project; it
only exists now because the Friends of the Library Board agreed to fund
it.
Do
you have bike racks?
We
heard loud and clear that bike racks were a necessity during public
meetings. There are not only two large
bike racks, but also a cyclist aid station next to them that has an air pump
and some commonly used tools for easy bike fixes.
How’s
the parking?
We
have 34 parking spaces in an asphalt paved lot.
Two of those are reserved for ADA use, while another two have Electric
Vehicle charging stations in front of them.
Tell
me about the 1% for Art Projects
Each
public construction project in Juneau allocates 1% of its construction budget
to artwork per CBJ ordinance. Members of
the art selection committee are appointed by the Assembly, and the committee
then reviews and proposes selected artwork to the Assembly.
For
this project, two works submitted by artist Dan DeRoux were selected. They’re titled “Wisdom” (the two Bronzed
Raven & Eagle sculptures, standing atop a stack of books) and “Flight of
Imagination” (the seven swans with book covers/pages for wings).
