Something for everyone: Updated and expanded library opens for business

After a $2.9 million renovation and a year of construction, the Waverly Public Library officially reopened for business Oct. 21.

“That’s when we were able to get into this space for the first time again,” said Library Director Sarah Meyer two days after the doors opened again. She noted at the time that some odds and ends were still being finished up. “They’re installing all the signage today. We still have some art to hang.”

The library boasts an enhanced children’s area with tiered seating in the story time area, along with what library personnel are calling the Story Tree, a towering metal sculpture that not only resembles a tree but houses metal animals among its branches.

The stainless steel tree was created by Frank Hunter from Iron-Clad Art in West Des Moines, according to Meyer, and was funded in part by memorial money to honor Luke Frerking, who used to work at the library and came up with the idea.

Nearby is a “baby garden,” an enclosed play area where “caregivers can come and take a seat while the babies play,” Meyer said. She indicated the bouncy animals in the area. “These have been tremendously popular already.”

Along the wall is an extensive magnet board where children can also play, and on a different wall is a large light board where people can turn disks to set different colors, forming patterns.

“It’s like the old-fashioned Lite-Brite that you just turn,” Meyer explained. “You can make it any color that you want to. Just keep turning it, and it goes to a different color.”

Toward the back of the children’s area is the new location for the Youth Desk, where both the youth services librarian and the teen services librarian will be based. The desk is close to the new teen space, a 1,000-square-foot addition to the southwest corner of the library.

“The teen room is brand-new space,” said Meyer. “This used to be an outdoor patio.”

The teen room is closed off from the rest of the library to keep sound from echoing around the whole building. Teen services librarian Trevor Krug appreciates the new setup over the former all-open layout.

“Given our high ceilings and our boisterous crowd after school, it’s really loud out there,” he said of the main library space. “This room has been great for that. I can sit at that Youth Desk when it’s almost packed in here, and you can hear a murmur going, but it’s nice and quiet.”

Krug noted that the teen space has a large gaming area, 12 new computers and music playing.

“These last couple of days, it’s been packed in here,” he said.

The Pattengill family visited the teen room after school that day.

“I really like it,” said Cameron Pattengill, 12 years old. “It’s just amazing. I like how the youth area has got its own little space and it’s contained, so it keeps the noise a little more under control.”

Mom Lindsey Pattengill was happy that the library was fully open to the public again.

“It is a relief to have it open again,” she said. “We’ve missed coming, so we’re glad that it’s finalized for the most part and that it’s open and that we can come back.”

Past the teen room, along the back wall of the library, is a line of booths against the west windows of the building. On the opposite side of the library from the children and teen areas is a fireside den, a quiet area with a two-sided fireplace.

Library Board member Erin Jones was in the children’s area with her son, Henry, age 5.

“Every time I come in, it’s like, something else has shown up,” she said. "It’s like the vision is all coming together.”

Jones was involved with the building project since its inception five years ago.

“It was 2019 that we started the community interviews and working with the consultant trying to figure out our space needs,” she said. “And from that we discovered that we needed some more teen space. We needed some dedicated adult quieter areas.”

She said a goal was “trying to make this building the best it can be without ripping everything out and putting in everything new. We were very intentional about trying to maintain the integrity of the traditional library feel that we have.”

Jones noted that the remodel continued the use of warm wood tones, that it kept the carpet that was still in good condition, but then added things like the Story Tree.

“It’s an amazing feature. It’s so fun,” she said of the tree.

When people first see the Story Tree, they just see it as a tree, she said, but then she asks whether they see the squirrel and what else can they find.

“And then it’s just seeing their eyes light up,” she said. “And it’s not just the kids.”

Jones said she didn’t remember how many animals they had placed in the tree, somewhere between 12 and 18.

“It really captivates you that much more and makes you want to keep looking,” she said.

Around the sides of the tree trunk, at a child’s eye height, are three little peepholes with buttons next to them. Pushing a button turns on an interior light to illuminate a fairy room inside the tree trunk, such as a tiny kitchen or bedroom.

Other library upgrades include a more-open lobby with bench seating along the wall. A new study room has also been added, and older ones have improved lighting.

There’s a coffee house look through much of the library, with lots of booths, benches and small tables, and patrons are encouraged to bring along food and drink, just not at the computer stations.

Almost all the changes are within the footprint of the original building. The only addition was enclosing the southwest patio for the teen room. The matching patio on the northwest side of the building remains a patio.

The library will have a grand opening for the public Nov. 16, a Saturday morning, when the community can see all the changes and additions.

“There’s something for everyone here,” said board member Jones, “and it’s fun seeing everyone discovering and rediscovering our library.”