In Miami there are major talks about closing 22 branch libraries, saying the age of the library is coming to an end, but here in Brookfield, IL steps are being taken towards building a bigger, better library that will meet the needs of 21st century patrons.

Why haven’t I written a library visit post on my local library? Because every time I’m there with my camera the place is crawling with people. It makes taking non-intrusive pictures impossible. Brookfield is a small, but very busy library.

The library purchased the abandoned church across the street and demolished it this summer. The property was cleared, leveled, and seeded. The empty corner lot is being turned into a temporary park that will play a major role in the library’s 100th anniversary celebration next year.

Here are some pictures:

The church is on the left, the library on the right.

July: The church with stained glass removed and demolition fencing up.

August: The church is gone and the grass is growing.

A view of the library looking across the field.

Current facts and figures from the library website: “Circulation in 2012 was just over 300,000 items, an average of 16.1 items per capita. Circulation has increased by 103% since 2005 even though the population of Brookfield has remained relatively static. Over 157,000 people visited the Library in 2012, a 55% increase from 2005 when the Library had 95,852 visitors.  On an average day, 462 people visit the Library” (source).

If you’d like to see conceptual sketches of the proposed library, here’s the link: http://brookfieldlibrary.info/content/lip. Scroll down and look under resources.

Some library history: In 1912 Brookfield received a Carnegie grant of $10,000 to build a library. In 1986 that library building was demolished and a new building was constructed on the same site. One of my cousins who grew up in Brookfield remembers the old Carnegie library as a dark, dank place. The current library was remodeled in 1999 and again in 2010.

What’s going on at your local library?

If you’re a blogger, why not consider writing a post about your library? If you do, please put your link in the comments section below–I’d love to see it!