Huntley Area Public Library fully opens following renovations and construction of new facilities
HUNTLEY – Since around mid-2021, the Huntley Area Public Library (HAPL) has been working on renovating the old library building and finalizing construction on the new building, which added 17,000 square feet to the existing 15,000 square feet.
The HAPL had originally been slated to be fully open to the public on Jan. 24, however, due to some unforeseen circumstances, on Jan. 20, the HAPL Board of Trustees had to make the difficult decision to extend the library’s closure.
Despite some minor setbacks, on Feb. 7, HAPL staff were finally able to introduce patrons to all of the new amenities the library now has to offer.
“Obviously we’re super excited. I think any time you’re doing a project of that magnitude, there are certain levels of excitement and expectations. Also, the expectations that some things are kind of intangible and you know, out of your control. I think that’s really what happened with us,” said Doug Cataldo, HAPL’s head of marketing. “The time gave us a little more time to get things done. Get things ready to hopefully have some of that furniture that wasn’t here, arrive. Signage that needed to get here. So, most of those things actually did happen.”
Cataldo added that the library is still waiting on a few items to arrive and be set up.
“Two of our rooms won’t be open right away and that’s the recording studio and the gaming room. They’re coming soon. We’ll have them ready, but there’s a lot for people to see and there’s a lot for people to explore when they come in,” said Cataldo. “You got the tech lab and you got the creative studio. You got the quiet room and the conference room, the collaboration room. So, there’s a lot of things that are absolutely brand new to the community and this library and we couldn’t be more excited for those things.”
Cataldo explained that reservations are required for the collaboration and conference rooms. Individuals can reserve either room by visiting huntleylibrary.org.
“[The] tech lab will be for technology classes and courses [and] other activities. [The] creative studio, we’ll start having some programming real soon, a variety of different things. [We] have a Silhouette die cutter machine [and] some 3D printers. We’re ready to go,” Cataldo said.
He continued, “I know for sure there’s sewing machines and the other part that I really thought was cool in [the creative studio] is they have some recording equipment to digitize like vinyl [and] all the VHS tapes to digital format. So, there’s a lot of good technology available. As things progress with programs and getting people more familiar, we’ll continue to unveil things in that room and other areas of the library as well.”
Additionally, Cataldo stated he is excited that patrons can now have the opportunity to work in quiet rooms if needed.
Further, the HAPL’s youngest visitors also have more activities to look forward to in the Children’s Library, including currently being able to participate in a scavenger hunt throughout this month.
As a final takeaway, Cataldo shared information about two areas that the HAPL has worked hard to expand.
“The local history area. We finally have some full fledge local history displays that show some of the historical value and content of the Village of Huntley. [That’s] located on the west part of the library and again, there’s some seating,” said Cataldo. “The entire teen collection is out there too. So, if they want to get graphic novels or audiobooks or regular books, new books, [and] magazines that are focused on just YA collections, that’s the place and we’ve never had that before. We’ve had shelving units in certain areas of the library, but [now] they have their own section.”
