REACHING HIGHER. The drone image shows the progress of the ongoing construction project at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library in downtown Eau Claire. (Submitted image)

About libraries, Albert Einstein said, “The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.” Most residents of Eau Claire know where the London Square Mall was located. That’s where you go these days to find the Eau Claire public library. If you can’t walk, drive, or ride your bicycle, city Bus No. 6 will get you to the front door at 2725 Mall Drive.

This temporary location is necessary because, as many of us have kept watch in recent months, the downtown library is under reconstruction. It’s a busy place. Sometimes, 50 workers may be on site. These days, they are working on drywall, plumbing and electrical, and the amazing array of geothermal units and pipes for the HVAC system. Online, you can watch Mike Shea, project manager for Market & Johnson, give the December update video. You start on the snowy third floor where the steel siding is yet to cover the geometry of that addition. Then you move to the open spaces of the second floor and the Headwaters Bridge. You’ll probably never see the infrastructure of the building when you visit the renewed library, but Shea’s video reveals a wall of steel units that comprise the geothermal mechanical room. After a brief look at the first floor and the new book drop, Shea shows off the dry-walled staff workplace in the basement.

This renovation is going to provide a state-of-the-art location for finding books and more. It is also no accident that this renewal is happening in Eau Claire. It was part of the long-range vision for the building at its inception in the early 1970s (the current building opened in 1976). One day, planners surmised, the library will need more space– a third floor. One day, the library will do much more than provide books on shelves and a system for borrowing the books.

Local commitment is crucial to the success of public libraries. That has certainly been the case for the Eau Claire public library. But it is important to acknowledge the work of the Wisconsin Library Association. At about this time every year, WLA sponsors Library Legislative Day in Madison. (This year the event happened on Feb. 8.) The WLA presents a general agenda to legislators and their staff, hoping to produce support for libraries across the state, including attention to public libraries, academic libraries, and school libraries. 

It’s no surprise that libraries, like other public organizations and private entities, have struggled with two years of precautionary techniques that offer safe and secure ways of doing business. Many people have decided to wait it out, using the internet as the substitute for materials they usually found in the library. Some have taken advantage of the small “branch” libraries in the community. There are at least 15 Little Free Libraries in Eau Claire and probably another half dozen in Altoona. The Take-One-Book, Leave-One concept was the idea, in 2009, of the late Todd H. Bol of Hudson. As his project slowly caught on, he and Rick Brooks formed a nonprofit in 2012 to encourage widespread participation in the movement. Eventually, the idea took hold across the world – now in 100-plus countries with more than 75,000 registered sites. The boxes come in all styles and shapes. I think there’s one in the form of the Tardis from Doctor Who. My grandchildren helped build the one that stands at the side of my yard. Like so many others, we are interested in making books available to all.

If you can’t get to the public library on Mall Drive, look for a Little Free Library near you. You’ll probably find something you always wanted to read – or something you know nothing about. That’s the adventure of libraries. Hang on. The L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library hopes to reopen downtown in the autumn of this year.

Doug Pearson is a professor emeritus of English at UW-Eau Claire and a longtime library supporter. Learn more about the library construction project here.