Beautiful fall sunny days in Ohio have been the recent backdrop for tours of the new Geauga County Public Library branch in Thompson Township.
Beautiful fall sunny days in Ohio have been the recent backdrop for tours of the new Geauga County Public Library branch in Thompson Township.
With construction, paving and plantings behind them, GCPL administrators and staff invited area residents and patrons to see the newest branch of the library system.
Thompson Library is slated to open to the public Oct. 29 and is located just north of the Thompson Township square at 6645 Madison Road (state Route 528).
Upon arrival, patrons and guests are greeted by breathtaking vaulted windows from front to back. The light bathes the interior with a cheery glow as the library opens to an expansive children’s section with bright reading areas and gathering space.
The entry corridor, or “showcase,” of the building invites guests to a coffee station, information desk, self-checkout and copy/fax area. The contemporary look of the interior with its LED lighting panels and streamlined cabinetry offers clean lines and simple structure.
Most of the furniture is on casters for easy rearranging to accommodate special programming and traffic flow. Two study rooms offer a quiet, glass-enclosed space for small conferencing.
Many of the gently used items were repurposed from the closed Newbury library branch.
The Francis Spatz Leighton Reading Room is of special significance to the residents of Thompson. This nationally renowned author and former resident bequeathed a significant sum of money to her beloved town.
As stated in her will, it was very important to her Thompson’s children understand the wealth of knowledge that comes from reading, literature, nature and the cultural arts. She enjoyed playing in the woods and longed for children to gather together, share stories and become familiar with surroundings both near and far.
To that end, the reading room is situated on the wooded side of the building overlooking nature. GCPL Director Ed Worso outlined preliminary plans to bring in art competitions. as well as nature exhibits, possibly in conjunction with the Geauga Park District.
“They (architects) wanted to plant $17,000 worth of trees, but we said, ‘We have trees,’” he said, adding future plans include work on the grounds with the hopes of enlisting help from area organizations.
The library has a multi-media conference room, complete with computer adaptive conference seating. The room capacity is 108.
An old school bell hangs over the entry door to the conference room as a reminder of the history of the site — Thompson Library sits atop land formerly occupied by Thompson School, which originated in the late 1890s.
The 5-acre property took three years to acquire and lots of hard work, particularly on the part of Thompson residents Erwin and Lynne Leffel.
“It takes a year of planning, a year of design and a year of construction, and we met sometimes in 8-hour sessions to get it right,” Worso said, adding the new branch encompasses 8,500 square feet.
New library Manager Kevin Barton has a hard time hiding his enthusiasm about the branch opening later this month.
He said all the staff members from the former Thompson Library Station at Ledgemont Elementary School will be brought over to the new venue to manage the collection of just under 40,000 items.
The library in Thompson and the new branch in Bainbridge Township were made possible by a county-wide $24 million bond issue.
Improvements were also made to the Middlefield Library branch and money is held in reserve to make improvements to the Chardon branch. Bainbridge is slated to open by year’s end, Worso said.
Following the completion of these projects, Worso said he would focus on capacity building, which is his forte’.
Thompson Library’s hours of operation starting Oct. 29 are Tuesday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Friday. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
