St. Charles Public Library

St. Charles’ first library was a 1906 Carnegie Library that endured as an important symbol of the city’s heritage. Substantial additions in the 1960s and the 1980s addressed space needs for a growing community but marginalized the Carnegie building. This project was driven by a need to accommodate current library service trends, but it was also an opportunity to re-vitalize the original historic library building. The project’s gut renovation and modest addition realized several notable improvements: • The library entrance was relocated opposite the original Carnegie Library to address two design challenges: it enhances the library’s civic presence by locating the entry along a primary city road, and it establishes a new interior path that reintegrates the Carnegie building into daily library activities. • A new terraced courtyard opens the lower-level Youth Services department to abundant daylight and adds a flexible and secure outdoor program space. • The primary community meeting room was relocated to a prominent location near the new entry and overlooking the new courtyard. • A dynamic new Teen Room was added under the sloped roof of the addition. • A new maker space was added next to the computer lab to accommodate the growing crossover between maker and digital technology activities. • The library’s lone two-story space was adapted to a new grand space that recalls traditional reading rooms. • A drive-up service window was added.