Library gets a farewell – for now
ROANOKE COUNTY - It was a slightly bittersweet morning when members of the Glenvar community came together with library staff and officials on Sept. 29 to bid farewell to the Glenvar Library.
At the ceremony, library officials and members of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors recognized the branch’s service to the community.
Diana Rosapepe, Director of Library Services for Roanoke County, speaks at the Sept. 29 ceremony to say goodbye to the old Glenvar Library and kick off construction for the new. - Photo by Carrie E. Cox
Built in 1979, the 5,100-square-foot building served its purpose then. However, with time and new technologies, the building suddenly became smaller and smaller, and more and more crowded. “You could quite easily open a door and, in the process, accidentally knock someone down,” remarked Roanoke County Assistant Administrator Daniel O’Donnell.
Director of Library Services Diana Rosapepe commented on the building’s “Brady Bunch” look which, as stylish as it was in the late ’70s, had become dated. She noted that “for every new book we brought in, one had to be taken out.”
The exterior of the building had also become dated, blending quietly into the surrounding landscape as “two, small white boxes stuck together,” as she described it. “People were always getting lost and were unable to find it,” she added, recalling the story of “when someone actually called, asking for directions, and it turned out they were in the parking lot!”
The flag that flew over the Glenvar Library was lowered a final time before being passed to representatives of generations who used the old library and will use the new one in the future. - Photo by Carrie E. Cox
The new library promises not to have any of those space problems.
After the existing building is razed, construction of the 15,150 square-foot facility – three times bigger than the old one – will begin on the same site at the corner of West Main Street and Daugherty Road across from Fort Lewis Fire & Rescue.
“The Glenvar community loves its library and has waited for this day for a long time,” said Roanoke County Board of Supervisors Chairman Joseph B. “Butch” Church at the ceremony. “The only thing better than starting this process will be opening the doors to the new library.”
Holzheimer, Bolek & Meehan Architects of Cleveland, Ohio, did the plan. HB+M is the same firm that designed the South County Library that is expected to open early this winter.
Amenities of the new library include a covered drop-off near the entrance, a drive-through book drop-off and pick-up window. It also will have a vending area, 27 public computers, individual study rooms, separate teen and children’s areas, as well as meeting rooms that can hold up to 77 people when dividers are open, and a quiet reading/local history room.
Construction should be complete and the library open by early winter 2012, officials said. In the meantime the majority of the library’s collection is in storage and a temporary library is open in the former King’s Florist building located at 2630 W. Main St.
Story by Carrie E. Cox
What will happen to the construction debris from the old library? Will it be recycled or go into a landfill?