Drake Library

The Stewart Library in town will be closed due to moving from Oct. 5 to Nov. 1, and will reopen as the Drake Community Library at 5th Avenue and Park Street on November 2. “The Stewart Library is 108 years old. We’ve outgrown this location,” Marilyn Kennett, an assistant librarian, said.

The overall goal for the new library is to be more conducive to common spaces. Whereas in the old library, customers would come by, pick up their books and leave, the new library will have study spaces, meeting spaces, a “teen” area, computers and comfortable seating.

Technology will improve—there will be 16 computers in the new library, as compared to only four in the old one, WiFi reception throughout the entire building and a TV.
The book collections will have “more space, easier access and room for growth,” Kennett said. The kids’ section, or the “Story Room” space, will be much cozier. According to Kennett, there will be a “treescape” in the room for kids to imagine they are in a forest.

The grand opening week will be from December 5-11. “This will include special events, such as the dedication of the new library,” Kennett said. She encourages people of all ages to come and check it out.

Phase II Athletic Complex

The upcoming opening of Phase II of the Athletic Complex will provide a state-of-the-art space for varsity athletes, students and community members. “There will be a 50-meter pool, divided into two bulkheads, with three separate activity areas,” President for Institutional Planning Marci Sortor said. Because of the size of the aquatics facility, diving practice, water polo, and community exercise could all potentially be happening at the same time in the pool. There will also be a whirlpool, as well as a teaching room for swim teams to have discussion.

Also in the natatorium will be a new climbing wall, a bouldering wall and a viewing space below and above these walls for those who get their climbing thrills vicariously.
In addition to the aquatic center, there will be a multi-purpose dance room, larger than the Roberts Theatre, so that people can practice dance routines including those involving “leaping off the stage,” Sortor said. “This room will have a sprung wood floor, with a marley-type surface,” she said. This special performance floor is like a springboard, so it gives less resistance to people dancing on it.

The Field House will have “hammertoss, golf, baseball, track, long jump, pole vault and tennis,” Sortor said. “There will be PE faculty offices, classrooms, training rooms, locker rooms and equipment issue. There will also be a big classroom on the third floor, which can be separated into two classrooms.

The new building will be connected to the Darby Gymnasium via an underground tunnel, which will have locker rooms for swim teams, community members, faculty, and coaches.
Not only are the features exciting—so are the environmental initiatives being taken. There will be air-handling equipment that recaptures and reuses heat. Sortor noted the inclusion of a “geothermal well for the pool area itself.” As for the Field House, there will be “a rain water catchment system that picks up the water that runs off the roof and the condensed water from air-handling equipment. It then uses this water to water fields and flush toilets in the Field House area,” Sortor said.

The new Athletic Facilities building is due to be finished in August 2010. Sortor explained that while they would like to demolish the Physical Education Complex (PEC) at the same time the new building is finished, they will probably have to wait until after 2010, as demolishing it could interrupt classes that still use it. Either way, amazing facilities will be available to us next year.

Grinnell Public Safety Building

The Grinnell Police and Fire departments will soon be celebrating the long awaited completion of the new Grinnell Public Safety Building. Construction, which has been going on for over a year, is nearly complete, and move-in is scheduled for November. While just a block north of the current Police and Fire headquarters, the new building will offer more space and a more efficient physical layout for both departments. The new building will feature more on-site storage space, reducing the Police Department’s reliance on external storage. The new location at 6th Avenue and Spring Street will be “much more user-friendly for the community,” Police Chief Jody Matherly said.

-Compiled by Kane Balser and Marcus Zeitz ­