ONAWA, Iowa -- How badly did the Onawa Public Library want additional space? To illustrate the facility's cramped conditions, they turned to employee Lori Beck. She was nine months pregnant at the time. This was two decades ago.
"We took a photo of me at nine months pregnant standing between stacks of book that were two-and-a-half feet apart," Beck said.
Yes, the library and its 6,000 square feet needed to grow. According to Beck, few structural changes or improvements had been made since the library opened in 1909.
According to Beck, it would take another decade before momentum for a new library effort really gained traction. It was on Valentine's Day in 2002 that Beck was named head librarian. On that date, she said, the facility literally became the focal point of her life.
"We broke ground on Nov. 1, 2003, and construction had already begun," she said.
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The $2.85 million renovation, an undertaking fueled in part by a $1.5 million bond issue and the efforts of advocates to raise another $1.25 million, enjoyed its first day of business in its second-generation form in February 2005.
Architects from FEH Associates Architects in Sioux City and Brown Construction from North Sioux City, S.D., matched the Arts & Crafts architecture of the 1909 adjacent facility.
The two building components merged with a balcony and foyer area just off the front circulation desk. Arches prevail in the ceiling design, the shape of the front desk and more.
"Even the window details from the original construction carried over into the new design," said Beck, tapping a circulation desk designed by Haberl Tile & Stone.
The Onawa Public Library, according to Beck, at one time may have faced closure as the original Andrew Carnegie structure was not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"We lost some government funding because of that and could have been closed," she said. "They allowed us to stay open because (for about two decades) we've had a plan in the works."
A handicapped-accessible elevator not only helps tie the new building to the old, it also takes Monona County residents to any of 30-plus meetings held each month in the second-floor community meeting rooms.
The summer reading program at the Onawa Public Library has also grown since the addition opened nearly six years ago. The summer enrollment used to hover around 30 to 40 young readers. Now, there are up to 100 taking part.
The new facility was even a hit for then-Sen. Barack Obama, who brought his presidential campaign to the Onawa Public Library on March 31, 2007. Obama, running third in Iowa at the time behind then-Sen. John Edwards and former First Lady Hillary Clinton, spent 75 minutes at the library handling questions from Onawa-area voters. The campaign stop was the first Obama had streamed live on his website. His wife Michelle watched it from a Des Moines location.
Obama went on to win the White House in the 2008 election.
"I remember the president coming in and saying how gorgeous this building is," Beck said. "He was really impressed."
The modern structure is a far cry from Onawa's book-lending roots. The first books on loan in the Monona County seat were checked out at the town jail. At least that's what author John Witt found in his research. Witt studied all 99 Carnegie libraries in Iowa. Witt noted that Judge Addison Oliver contributed $20,000 and the land for the "new" library more than a century ago.
Witt's reaction upon seeing the "new" Onawa Public Library?
"As the author of 'The Carnegie Libraries of Iowa,' I have had the pleasure of visiting every Carnegie library in Iowa and (have) seen many additions made to the original buildings," he noted.
"The Onawa addition is by far the best and most detailed one I've ever seen...The Onawa Public Library addition is a truly unique and artful design. It is truly a masterpiece in library renovation."
