Libraries planned for Ruch, Applegate, Jacksonville and Rogue River are designed to fit the unique needs of their towns

Jackson County Library Services’ goal of rebuilding or expanding all of its 14 branches in six years will be four libraries closer to reality by February.

Thanks to a $39 million bond measure approved in 2000, four more new libraries — Applegate, Jacksonville, Ruch and Rogue River — will be open soon.

Margaret Jakubcin, west county regional manager, says each library is unique to its community, thanks to citizen input and additional funds from citizens, communities and grants.

Slated for a late November opening is the Applegate Library. The former library was a scant 500 square feet. The new library, with the help of grants, is now more than five times that size at 2,850 square feet.

A barn-like theme was selected for the design. Sited on land donated by Benni and Laura Ellis from a 100-acre farm parcel, the new library has expansive views of the countryside.

"It suggests a rural property and is in keeping with a farm," says Jakubcin.

A dedication ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 1, 2002.

The Jacksonville Library, opening in mid-December, created some unique challenges. Jakubcin says building a 5,646-square-foot, train depot-style library on a small, sloped lot in the middle of a national historic town was challenging enough; but hitting abandoned mine tunnels during the first week of excavation was something no one had expected. Luckily, says Jakubcin, the tunnels did not prove to have any historic significance and the building was quickly back on track once the tunnels were filled in with a lean concrete mix.

Jacksonville Friends of the Library raised funds to double the size of the community room to hold 100 people. The group also provided input on the building’s unique historical design features.

"This library has features the others don’t — a shingled roof, lovely brick façade and that classic Jacksonville arch," says Jakubcin.

For the Ruch library, the community raised $150,000 in additional funds so a much-needed community center could be included.

The former library was located in rented space in a basement in the Sunshine Club Commercial Center. The new, 5,896-square-foot library will be the first permanent county-owned library for the area.

In addition to its lodgepole pine and glass wall design, the Ruch library has two art displays. Local artists Lilli Ann and Marvin Rosenberg worked with Ruch Elementary schoolchildren to build a walkway of colored stepping stones connecting the school to the library. They also created a large ceramic mural for the entryway.

Opening in early February, the Rogue River Library has the most contemporary design with block walls and expansive glass windows looking out over tree-topped hills. Built on the site of its former library, it is the largest of the libraries to date. Jakubcin says trying to retain portions of the old building while going from 3,800 square feet to 11,460 square feet proved more difficult than originally hoped.

"One little wedge and a piece of the core is the same," says Jakubcin. "It would have been easier to start from scratch, but the Friends of the Library had helped provide the original site and we wanted to honor that gift."

Although each library was planned to fit the unique needs of its community, the function of every library remains the same. That’s why one architectural firm, Skelton, Straus, Seibert will handle all designs, Jakubcin says.

"There’s a big learning curve to teach architects to design libraries functionally," she says. "The libraries are for public service. We need to have spaces separated off, but we need the circulation desk to have sight lines to all the areas for our staff.

"And there’s nothing like a circulation desk other than a circulation desk."

As these four libraries near their opening dates, work is about to begin on Eagle Point and Prospect libraries. Jakubcin says work will commence on the Gold Hill and Central Point libraries next year.

Sanne Specht is a free-lance writer living in Rogue River. Reach her at RogueRiverGal@aol.com.