Nokomis Community Library

Nokomis Community Library
The recently renovated front of the library, along 51st Street.
General information
Type	Library
Location	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Coordinates	44°54′37.89″N 93°13′23.69″W / 44.910525°N 93.2232472°W / 44.910525; -93.2232472
Construction started	1967
Completed	1968
Technical details
Floor count	2
Floor area	13,426 square feet (1,247 m2)
Design and construction
Owner	Hennepin County Library System (formerly the Minneapolis Public Library)
Architect	Buetow and Associates, Inc.

Nokomis Community Library is one of 41 branch libraries in the Hennepin County Library System. Formerly, it was part of the Minneapolis Public Library System as it is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

History

The front exterior of Nokomis, from a 1968 promotional brochure.

Nokomis was the newest branch added to the Minneapolis Library System in 1967; the previous one was the Linden Hills Community Library was built in 1931.^[1] It was built to replace the former Longfellow Community Library that had served the Nokomis East area for many years. In 1967, the City of Minneapolis had Buetow and Associates, Inc design the new library building which was modeled after a tepee from the poem The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.^[2] Additionally, the library was named for Nokomis in said poem, making the branch the only library in the system to be named after a fictional character.^[2] The library featured a reading loft, basement meeting room, and 13,426 sq. ft.^[3] Construction on it began in 1967 and concluded the next year. The library opened in September 1968 and immediately doubled the circulation of the old Longfellow branch.

Outlook 2010 options

In July 1999, the Minneapolis Library Board proposed the following options of the renewal of Nokomis, which by then was becoming crowded and outdated. They published them in Outlook 2010, a plan to renovate all 15 Minneapolis libraries.

Option A

Option A proposes combining Nokomis with the nearby Roosevelt Community Library in a 25,000 square feet (2,323 m²) space and close both Nokomis and Roosevelt. This would allow the library to design a state-of-the-art building at an undecided location.^[4]

Option B

Option B recommends moving Nokomis to a different site without moving Roosevelt. The new library there would be 18,000 square feet (1,672 m²).

Option C

Option C includes capital improvements to Nokomis, such as replacing carpeting, signs, and the roof.

None of these options were actually done.

Planned reconstruction

The library in 2008

Nokomis library is scheduled to get a $5.2 million renovation in 2009. The new library has been designed by KKE Architects with significant input from a citizens advisory committee, and features modern architectural features and materials.^[5] The renovation will include expanding the size of the library by about 1/3 (to about 17,760 square feet (1,650 m²)) and completely replacing the mechanical systems (heating, cooling, lighting, etc.) with high-efficiency ones. The basement meeting room will be replaced by a smaller main-floor meeting room, and the kids loft will be replaced by a reading 'nest'. The fountain will be removed, but parts of the mobile above it will be retained as wall decorations.

The library will close on September 12, 2009, for the renovation, which is expected to last about a year. (This was originally scheduled for 2008, but was delayed about a year, due to the merger with Hennepin Libraries and the renovation of North Regional Community Library which was done before Nokomis.)

Art

'Wind and Water'

Nokomis features a fountain called 'Wind and Water', designed by Doug Celender.^[1] The fountain represents the nearby Minnehaha Falls, which was part of Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha for which the library is named.^[2] This fountain will be demolished in Fall, 2009 when the library is renovated.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Benidt, Bruce Weir (1984). The Library Book. Minneapolis: Minneapolis Public Library and Information Center. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Nokomis". Minneapolis Public Library. http://mplib.org/nokomis.asp. Retrieved 2007-02-20. 
3. ^ "Nokomis Community Library - Minneapolis, Minnesota". EducationDepartment.org. 2008. http://www.educationdepartment.org/library/8234. Retrieved 2008-02-05. 
4. ^ Ryan, Amy (1999). Outlook Twenty Ten. Minneapolis: Minneapolis Public Library. 
5. ^ "Minneapolis selects KKE Architects for Nokomis Library expansion" (PDF). Longfellow Nokomis Messenger. 2007 December. pp. 5. http://www.longfellownokomismessenger.com/images/dec07.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-22.