Library renovates space after winning award

Thanks to a $122,000 award from the Million Dollar Makeover Project, Thomas Lee Hall Library patrons can now kick back and relax in a newly renovated teen friendly space or hold conferences in a new state-of-the-art meeting room.

Fort Jackson's library was one of three winners to receive a free "face-lift" after a panel of program, design and construction professionals at IMCOM headquarters found their proposal for a renovation exceptional. Julie Miller, Thomas Lee Hall Library's chief librarian, learned about the contest after the Army Library Programs sent a mass email about the Million Dollar Makeover Project to Army libraries across the world.

"We saw it as an opportunity to finally do something to update the space because the library had an old, 70's feel to it," Miller said. The last time any renovations had been done was in 2008.

Renovations began March 7 and took less than a week to complete. Designer Jennifer Williams from the FMWR Interior Design Team at IMCOM headquarters in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, flew out to Fort Jackson to survey the library and determine what needed to be done.

The improvements included the addition of lounging chairs, new bookshelves, wooden tables, new flooring, and moveable shelves for audio books. "As far as shelving and walking around in the teen area, it's definitely easier to get around, and it stands out more because of the new graffiti art on the wall," said Mariah Lovick, a library technician.

Over the summer, teens took advantage of the space for the wi-fi, but mostly Soldiers used the area to relax and read. "We need ideas from teens like what would get them in here more often," said Lovick. "Maybe we can collaborate with the schools on base." In regards to the space, "I've been told it has a Starbucks feel to it, like they are hanging out at a coffee shop," said Miller.

The teen-friendly area is not the only new thing in the library. A new meeting room, which is free to use during library hours, has been popular with Soldiers and civilians who need a place to study or give presentations. The room is a versatile space that houses projector screens and white boards for conferences, and is filled with four wide tables with eight chairs each.

"Our library has never had a meeting room before and we've always had a lot of requests for us to have a spot where people can come as a group and have meetings or teach classes," said Kristen Gripp, the programming librarian. Gripp held all the summer reading program activities for the kids in the room in addition to science experiment day, arts and crafts day, Lego club, and game day.

She plans to hold a fall festival in October where kids can wear their Halloween costumes and play games in the meeting room. Limited to 30 children, the festival will have a fall theme background for parents to take pictures with their kids. Registration is required.

Plans are in the making to refinish the rest of the floors in the library to match those in the meeting room.

They also hope to get a new fax system in the future. "I think us winning that money kind of spurred a little more interest in finishing the rest of the library," said Miller.

They hope to have these changes in place by the end of the year.

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