New Berlin Public Library Tour by Sandi

The New Berlin Public Library, with its Frank Lloyd Wright style, was awesome architecturally -- to me. Since Delavan lake has several Frank Lloyd Wright homes, this style would be a great compliment to Delavan, but maybe not right downtown in its present location.

On entry, the whole atmosphere screamed LIBRARY to me -- I loved it! The quotes in large lettering on the high walls throughout the building gave me a feeling of being someplace special -- reminded me of similar lettering in the Vatican -- but way too expensive for a Delavan project. The dark wood, including the library tables, did not distract because of all the windows, indirect and halogen lighting, and vastness of the areas. The "Artist of the Month" displays were nice, as well as the huge meeting room and screen, and the Veterans Room.

We all liked the idea of the small carryable shopping baskets and the push models! The express checkouts seemed very practical near the doors, but I'm not sure why the circ desk was located where it is. While we were there, people were using the small study rooms and were also sitting in the "quiet area."

Behind the scenes areas were equally amazing with the brightness of natural and artificial light. The movable and adjustable cubicles seemed very practical for these work areas. Staff lockers and mail slots were nice -- close to the bit staff lounge. The drive-up window was interesting and not manned at all times. The "e-lockers" were something new to me and seemed like a great service for after-hours pickup. The ILL area was right there also, and I liked the idea of putting the ILL items in special nylon/canvas bags! The MATERIALS MANAGEMENT sorting machine (RFD/BARCODE reader) was truly amazing to me and would eliminate lots of staff time. But at $193,000 this doesn't seem feasible. The WIRELESS CHARGING STATION was something I had never seen or heard of before. It seemed to be a very important part of their tech area.

The computer lab area was surprisingly far from close staff monitoring. They say they've not had a problem and have a change machine in the lab. There was no noise, no one running through the stacks, talking or laughing loudly or swearing, throwing things and just the general daily mayhem we usually experience.

The teen and children's areas seemed small and much to sterile. The teen series were grouped together and labeled appearing to be very helpful. The story room also was small, but I did think the under-window counter for doing crafts was good. The small room off the story hour area, which held the craft supplies and sink was a much needed place. The children's room did offer sliding patio doors to the outside in the event of nice weather for programs and stories. This was a very nice feature!

The shelving units with the sliding bookends were nicely wider for oversized books. Nothing was hanging out! The slats on the shelving unit ends were very useful and looked very nice. There were no books standing on top of the shelves either.

This was a place I would WANT to come to. It commanded reverence and respect. The New Berlin Public Library made me FEEL like I was in an old-fashioned LIBRARY, but with subtle modern technology.

Sandi Ballman