![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/library-sept-26-1968.jpg?ssl=1\" "\\"library-sept-26-1968\\"")
<\/a>It was 40 years ago on October 5th<\/sup> that the new library on the corner of 4th<\/sup> and Main Streets opened its doors.\u00a0 Designed by famed architect Edward Durell Stone, the newspaper declared that the library was a building that was \u201cdesigned for tomorrow\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\nFor those of you who appreciate \u201cjust the facts\u201d, the current library is the third major library building in Davenport.\u00a0 The first was the now-demolished Cook library at Sixth and Brady Streets.\u00a0 The second was the Carnegie library building that opened in 1901 on the corner of 4th<\/sup> and Main Streets where the current library now stands. The library has 63,000 square feet on three floors and cost $1.4 million to construct.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the high tech features of the new library was the adjustable shelving that replaced the fixed wooden shelving of the earlier library.\u00a0 Another was the system used by customers to request a magazine from the closed lower level of the library.\u00a0 Library staff called it an \u201cautowriter\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 A customer would write the name of the item they needed on an electronic panel.\u00a0 That information was instantly transmitted to a staff person in the basement who located the item and sent it up to the first floor on a dumbwaiter.\u00a0 And, finally, the library had entered the automobile age and was now able to provide a drive-up book return.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been in the library lately, you know that much has changed.\u00a0 In place of the card catalog, there are online catalog workstations.\u00a0 If you need an article from an older magazine or an out-of-state phone number or address, chances are you can find it online in one of the many databases the library subscribes to.\u00a0 The reading room space of 1968 now has twenty public access computers and instead of waiting in line for the circulation staff to check out your items, you can check them out yourself at the self-check machines and then renew them online from the comfort of your home.<\/p>\n Many things have remained the same, however.\u00a0 The high-tech adjustable metal shelving is still in use and the library is still \u201cdesigned for tomorrow\u201d.\u00a0 The open floor plan designed by Stone still offers the flexibility needed to change as library services have evolved, and more importantly, the overall \u201clook\u201d of the building remains undated.\u00a0 Last September the main floor was given a facelift \u2013 some new shelving added, the Children\u2019s \u201croom\u201d moved to out of the back area to the main floor, the customer service desks were moved back to their original location near the front entrance, and the carpet was replaced.\u00a0 These changes provide improved customer service and also showcase the architecture of the building.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t been to the Main library lately, we hope you\u2019ll come to the 40th<\/sup> anniversary celebration Sunday afternoon October 5 and see for yourself that the library building is still \u201cdesigned for tomorrow\u201d!<\/p>\n More information on the history of the Davenport Public Library is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n (posted by Amy G)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you are a regular reader of this blog you know that we use it to share snippets of local history.\u00a0 We hope you\u2019ll forgive us if we take the opportunity this week to share some brief history of a … Continue reading