ADRIAN — The youth services department at the Adrian District Library has a fresh look and several new offerings. It opened November 13 after two weeks of construction, and the library held a ribbon cutting and open house on December 9.

The walls are newly painted. Blue, yellow and green patches on the carpet create a colorful path through the department from one end to the other, with additional patches of color helping to delineate both a play area for younger kids and a spot in the northwest corner where older kids can hang out. The furniture has been updated with an eye toward technology: where the department used to have just a few inconveniently placed electrical outlets, now there are outlets and USB charging ports built into furniture throughout the library’s second floor.

New features include a large play cube and a new puppet stage where kids can put on shows, both purchased with donations from the Kappa Kappa Epsilon service sorority. 

The department has also been reorganized to make it easier to find things. Picture books are all together in the southeast corner and fiction is along the north wall. A lot more space has been dedicated to the library’s growing graphic novel collection. And at the front of the department there’s a shelf with materials for parents.

Computer and tablet stations now have bench seats intended to make it easier for multiple kids to share a station, or for an adult and child to work together.

The remodel was designed by Library Design Associates.

The total cost of the renovation was about $300,000. Apart from gifts from KKE and funding from the estate of James and Lois Silberhorn, the cost was largely paid for using money from the library’s operating millage. Each year, the library tries to spend less on day-to-day operations than it takes in, for the purpose of building a fund balance that can then be spent on care and upkeep of the building, including renovations.

Scroll down for photos from the December 9 open house …