“We are extremely excited about reopening the Avon Branch,” said Kyle Merrill, Gilbane Building Company Vice President in Cleveland. “This branch has many unique features that will provide Avon and the surrounding community access to tools and information vital to community growth.”
Approval for the expansion and renovation came in 2020 after a $2 million levy was passed by more than 70 percent of Avon voters. This project doubled the size of the original library, which opened in 1994, and expanded the library’s footprint from 10,000 to 27,000 square feet.
The library developed several new spaces for children and families, teens, and adults using input from the community. The children’s area is home to the Kathy Petersen Story Time Room, a space for children’s programming. Additionally, there is a dedicated early childhood area called the round room. This area is painted with brightly-colored foliage and houses most of the library’s picture books and play features. Visitors can access an outside reading garden through a door surrounded by stained glass that tells the story of Thumbelina, which was preserved from the library’s original building.
The teen and adult side of the library features several small and large meeting spaces, including a soundproof room, an e-Sports lounge equipped with zSpace augmented reality programs, the Create Space, and The Norton Family Foundation Demonstration Kitchen. The Create Space includes new types of machinery, such as a 3D printer, a laser engraver, and a vinyl printing and cutting system. The demo kitchen features a full kitchen and an attached meeting room that can seat 150. The new location also has a drive-thru window, drive-up return boxes, and a family nursing room.
