The D.R. Moon Memorial Library has chosen an architect for the library addition, with River Architects, based out of La Crosse WI getting the chance to put forward design plans. With a firm design and timeline still to be determined,

by Joseph Back

D.R. Moon library director Elizabeth Miniatt shared that preparatory steps were underway on the long-standing addition plans.

“Currently we are doing our initial meetings with them,” she said of the design firm. "To go over current progress and past details, along with board and architect expectations, respectively. River Architects has extensive experience with historic library building projects and additions and the board and I are looking forward to working with them.” Among the many services the firm offers are library planning consulting as well as library furniture design, alongside space needs analysis and historic structure reports.

As to the Pizza Party for a Cause event on Saturday, Miniatt said that it appeared 60 pizzas had been sold. The pizza sale, along with the proceeds from the silent auction, totaled about $2000 raised by the event for the building fund. Community members, members of the Friends of the library, the Stanley Correction Institution, and Ele’s Flowers contributed towards the silent auction baskets and items. The cost for pizza ingredients was covered through generous donations from Citizen’s State Bank, Forward Bank, and Thrivent. The event was put on just west of the library with help from the family of late children’s librarian Peggy Dalberto, particularly her daughters, Amanda and Brandy. Peggy’s love for the library and community was no secret and her family has worked to continue her legacy through their generous efforts to support the library.

Included in the indoor segment of the event was a book display from Peggy’s husband Barry Dalberto. Barry’s novels include the titles “Distant Dreamer” along with “Brave, Nisayenh Ma’iingen” and tell stories of past and present wilderness adventure, with “Brave, Nisayenh Ma’iingen” hearkening back to fur trade days between 1801 and 1802.

As to the many reasons for a contemporary library addition, Miniatt said, “The chief concerns are space and accessibility. We serve a larger community than our space currently supports. While the library’s services and community population has grown, our space has not expanded to keep up with that growth. In our latest survey on library use conducted in the middle of September 2022, we recorded 171 visits to the library over the course of the week and hundreds of checkouts and renewals. Despite the clear need for library services and resources, we have no space for meeting rooms, for a stationary makerspace, or for medium or large-scale indoor programming, to name a few. As for accessibility, the entire main level of our library is not handicapped accessible and the current access to the lower level cannot comply with ADA standards. As our mission is to provide services and resources to all, ensuring that all members of our community have equal access to the library is one of our greatest priorities in moving forward with this building project.”

The addition will be built on this plot of land to the west of the present library. Amanda and Jeremy Nimz (above left) were on hand Oct. 1 for a pizza party to raise money for a library addition. Photo by Joseph Back.