Morris Area Public Library to get nearly 3,000 sq ft addition

The Morris Area Public Library is getting a nearly 3,000 square foot addition that will allow community events to move out of the basement and onto the first floor.

Library Director Resa Mai said the addition is made possible thanks to an endowment left to the library by Richard Coulthard. The interest from the trust allowed the library to purchase the building to the north, the former Northern Insurance building.

Mai said that building will be torn down and parts of it will be saved to incorporate into the new building.

“The addition will have a big room that holds about 108 people, two bathrooms, and a new entryway coming in off the parking lot off of North and Wauponsee,” Mai said. “It will be, in my opinion, a much easier entrance because it will be all ground level. Our current entrance has a handicap ramp that serpentines. This will be a straight shot and much easier for people with mobility issues and people with strollers.”

The larger community space will move many library events out of the basement while providing natural light, as the side facing North Street will be entirely windows.

Mai said the hope is to break ground on the project in Spring 2025 and have the new addition open by January 2026.

The construction committee meets at 5:30 p.m. the second Monday of every month to make construction decisions, though Mai said at this point it’s at the stage of discussing things like what colors the counter will be.