Author: nbrottman

Though the results of the March 17 election are not yet certified, the unofficial results show strong voter approval of the advisory referendum regarding the issuance of $17.5 million in bonds to fund the Glencoe Public Library’s renovation and expansion.

Thank you to Glencoe’s residents for dedicating the time to learn about this advisory referendum and for thoughtfully considering the referendum question for the library and our community.

The Village Board and staff will work closely with the Library Board and staff on the timeline of their bond issuance and renovation. At this time, the start of construction is unknown. The Library building is expected to be fully closed during construction and is formulating plans for temporary library services. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2028.

Both the Village and the Library will share updates with the community as they become available.

The Glencoe Public Library today announced the launch of the public phase of its Rooted in History, Building for Tomorrow Capital Campaign, setting a $2.5 million private fundraising goal to help fund a much-needed renovation and expansion of the 1941 building ahead of a March 2026 community referendum.

For more than 80 years, the library has been a cornerstone of Glencoe life. But as the ways people live, learn, and connect have evolved, the library building has not kept pace. Despite responsible stewardship, the aging building faces rising costs and mounting infrastructure challenges. Leaders agree: delaying improvements is no longer an option.

Following a competitive process, the Library Board of Trustees selected Skidmore, Owings & Merrill as the Master Space Plan architects. The plan has been guided by Adam Semel, a lifetime Glencoe resident with both local ties and world-class expertise.

“Working with Adam Semel and his team has been a pleasure,” said Andrew Kim, executive director of the library. “The design preserves the library’s historic charm while reimagining it with flexible, sustainable, and accessible spaces for generations to come.”

Highlights of the proposed renovation include:

• A state-of-the-art program and community room that can easily be partitioned for simultaneous programs.
• An expanded children’s space (nearly 40% larger) with kid-friendly displays and more room for children and caregivers to interact in a screen-free environment.
• A 1,000-square-foot collection addition that will create a stunning, open, light-filled space on the southeast corner.
• A reimagined lower level with an open floor plan, inviting sightlines, private meeting rooms, and full accessibility for all patrons.

Community members are already rallying around the campaign.

“The library is the heart of our village,” said Campaign Advisory Council member Alisa Bergstein. “My kids learned to read here, and I can’t wait to see the new children’s space come to life.”

The project is to be funded through a combination of private philanthropy, public grants, and a March 17, 2026, referendum.

To bring the renovation to life, library leadership launched the Rooted in History, Building for Tomorrow Capital Campaign ahead of the spring referendum. While the initial estimate is $17.3 million, a revised cost estimate is being developed as plans progress. Early momentum is strong. More than $1 million in private donations has already been raised toward the $2.5 million goal, including leadership gifts from:

• Anonymous
• Anonymous
• Anonymous
• Ann and Robert Bates
• The Bergstein Family
• Lynn Chestler
• The Cornwall Trust
• Megan Cummins
• The Edelston Family
• Sara Kaufman Elsasser and Tim Holbrook
• The Fenwick Family
• Ben Miller and Linda Lin
• Roger and Laurence Parfitt
• Michael and Christine Pope
• Takiff Family Foundation
• Jessica Aspen and Seth Traxler
• Anne and John Tuohy
• Marilyn and Michael Vender
• Winter Family Foundation

To drive the campaign, the library’s Board of Trustees has partnered with a Campaign Advisory Council that includes a cross-section of engaged Glencoe residents. Through creative marketing strategies, including a community-wide Lemon-Aid Stand Fundraiser, they are building awareness across Glencoe and laying the foundation for fundraising success.

The Council is co-chaired by library trustees Linda Lin and Michael Pope and includes members Jessica Aspen, Ann Bates, Alisa Bergstein, Megan Cummins, Carla and Jay Edelston, Jill Takiff Hirsh, Lori Muller, John Tuohy, Marilyn Vender, and Rachel Zimmerman.

“Now is the moment to create a library that meets today’s needs and transforms it for the next generation,” said trustee and campaign co-chair Michael Pope. “The generosity of our lead donors has laid a strong foundation.”

Campaign Advisory Council member Lori Muller added: “This is such an exciting moment for our community. Moving into the public phase means everyone in Glencoe can help shape the library’s future. It’s a chance for all of us — families, friends, and neighbors — to come together and make something lasting for generations to come.”

The library invites residents to learn more and help make history by donating and getting involved. Details are available at renewgpl.org/product/donate or by contacting executive director Andrew Kim.

Take a “stand” for the library by enjoying a cup of lemonade on Saturday morning, September 20, at locations all over Glencoe. Glencoe kids have volunteered to run a total of 12 lemonade stands from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. with all proceeds supporting the Glencoe Public Library’s upcoming renovation.

Look for lemonade stands at these 12 locations around the village: in front of the library, Friends Park, Central School, Glencoe Beach, Duke Park, Takiff Center, Watts Park, Woodlawn Park, Green Bay Trail (at South Avenue), Shelton Park, Veterans Memorial Park, and The Grand. You’ll know you’re in the right place when you see yellow and blue balloons and kids wearing yellow t-shirts with the library logo.

Lemon-Aid Stand Day is being organized by the Capital Campaign Advisory Council, which is raising money for a major library building renovation project planned for 2026-2028. The council’s “Rooted in History, Building for Tomorrow” campaign has already hosted several informal sessions at businesses and private homes in Glencoe as well as at the library. More events will be scheduled for the fall.

For information on donating to the “Rooted in History, Building for Tomorrow” campaign, please contact the library’s executive director, Andrew Kim, or visit the Support section of this site.

The Glencoe Public Library and community leaders are working together to lay the groundwork for a major library building renovation planned for 2026-2028.

The purpose of the Capital Campaign Advisory Council is to solicit donations toward the renovation project. The council’s “Rooted in History, Building for Tomorrow” campaign got underway this summer with several information sessions at businesses and private homes in Glencoe as well as at the library. The council will host an additional event on September 12 that will take place on Wyman Green and in the library. More events will be scheduled later this fall.

The Campaign Advisory Council is co-chaired by Linda Lin and Michael Pope. Its members are Jessica Aspen, Ann Bates, Alisa Bergstein, Megan Cummins, Carla and Jay Edelston, Lori Muller, Jill Takiff Hirsh, John Tuohy, Marilyn Vender, and Rachel Zimmerman.

“Our library has been providing terrific service to Glencoe families since its building was completed in 1941,” says Michael Pope, who also is a member of the library’s Board of Trustees. “Now–eighty-four years later–a major renovation is needed. The architects at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill have created an exciting design that will bring daylight to all three floors of the building, create suitable office space for our hard-working staff, and increase our program space for Glencoe residents of all ages. This renovation will ensure that our library remains a ‘jewel’ of our village for many years to come.”

For information about donating to the “Rooted in History, Building for Tomorrow” campaign, please contact the library’s executive director, Andrew Kim, or visit the Support section of the campaign website.

In late August, a separate and permanent entity named the Glencoe Public Library Foundation was launched. The role of the foundation, which has 501(c)(3) tax-exemption status, is to receive donations and disburse funds on behalf of the library. Donations will support the renovation as well as library services and resources beyond its regular operating budget.

The Friends of the Glencoe Public Library was established in 1962 and supports library collections and programs through an annual appeal and semiannual used book sales.

Glencoe officials continue to work with the library’s Board of Trustees as renovation plans unfold. On August 27, 2025, the Village of Glencoe Zoning Commission and the Village of Glencoe Plan Commission met jointly for a presentation on the latest architectural renderings of the library project. In September, the Zoning Commission will consider a special use permit for the proposed large program and community room and the Plan Commission will conduct an external appearance review for the project as a whole.

The library’s renovation is estimated to cost $17.3 million and will be funded through a combination of private and public funding and grants. In November, the Village of Glencoe Board of Trustees will consider accepting the library board’s pursuit of a bond to finance the renovation project. If approved, the project will be presented to Glencoe voters in a nonbinding bond referendum on March 17, 2026. The amount sought will depend on the success of prior fundraising efforts. Construction is slated to begin in late 2026.

At its March 19, 2025, meeting, the Glencoe Public Library’s Board of Trustees approved a proposal from Just Cause Consulting to provide strategy and support in financing a library building renovation.

Founded in 2014 and based in Chicago, Just Cause helps nonprofit organizations launch and sustain capital campaigns and fundraising initiatives. It has worked with more than 60 organizations, including recently with Glencoe’s North Shore Congregation Israel.

The library trustees have engaged Just Cause to work with them over seven months in 2025. The renovation project will be funded through a combination of existing library reserves, funds raised through a capital campaign, private donations, a loan, and a March 2026 bond referendum. If the funding for the estimated $17.3 million project is secured, renovations will likely start in late 2026 and be completed in 2028.

“With the help of the professionals at Just Cause, we’re looking forward to engaging the Glencoe community in our exciting renovation plans,” said library board president Roger Parfitt. “The result will be a greatly improved library building that will better meet the community’s needs while retaining its uniquely welcoming atmosphere.”

The Board of Trustees of the Glencoe Public Library invites residents of the community to a public forum on its plans to renovate the library building. The forum will be held in the library’s Johnson Room on Monday, October 14, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Questions will be welcomed.

Speakers will include a trustee of the board and representatives from the Chicago architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM), which the board has engaged for a master space planning project. SOM was brought on board in April and tasked with creating a coherent vision for addressing known building issues and for the eventual renovation of the library’s interior spaces, grounds, and infrastructure. The master space plan is to be completed by the end of 2024. Incorporating community input, it will prioritize improvements while being sensitive to the historical integrity of the structure and its context within the village. Sustainability will also be a consideration.

The library board selected SOM for its comprehensive services and its interest in bringing a valued public space in line with current and future needs. The firm has designed several libraries, including Chicago’s Chinatown Public Library, the Billie Jean King Main Library in Long Beach, California, and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.

“In the board’s 2023 strategic planning process, we learned that Glencoe wants to retain the library’s warm and welcoming character, particularly the beautiful façade on Park Avenue and the vaulted ceiling in the Johnson Room,” said Roger Parfitt, president of the Glencoe Public Library’s Board of Trustees. “Yet residents also want a more modern, comfortable building that meets current needs, including more meeting rooms, an enhanced capacity for community events, better climate control, improved accessibility, better use of the lower level and of our great location on Wyman Green, and necessary updates to the aging building’s mechanical systems.”

“Before the SOM team finalizes their ideas, we need to hear from Glencoe residents. Come join us on October 14, listen to SOM’s suggestions, and provide us with your feedback for a wonderful new version of our library,” he said.

Situated in the heart of downtown Glencoe, the library was built in 1941. Over the years, it has seen several renovations to keep pace with changes in patron use, technology, and emerging service patterns and needs. The last major renovation, completed in 2001, added about 20% more space and featured a new preschool area on the second floor, the Young Adult/Media Room on the main floor, and the Friends of the Glencoe Public Library’s used book room on the lower level.

The program will be recorded and made available through the library’s YouTube channel a day or so after the event.

The Board of the Glencoe Public Library has engaged the Chicago architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) to create a master space plan for the aging library building. The plan, to be completed by the end of 2024, will create a coherent vision for addressing known building issues and for a potential renovation of the library’s interior spaces, grounds, and infrastructure.

The selection of SOM followed a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) issued on February 26, 2024. Nineteen architectural firms expressed their interest, fifteen submitted responses to the RFQ, and three finalists were interviewed. The Board reached its decision to hire SOM on April 29. Responsible for designing such libraries as Chicago’s Chinatown Public Library, the Billie Jean King Main Library in Long Beach, and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, SOM was selected for its comprehensive services and its interest in bringing a valued public space in line with current and future needs.

“At a time when spaces for learning and gathering are rapidly evolving, libraries are more important than ever, and the vibrancy of the Glencoe Public Library demonstrates this perfectly,” says SOM partner and Glencoe resident Adam Semel. “We are proud and honored to partner with Glencoe in charting its future through this master plan.”

With an eye to an eventual renovation of the library, the master space plan will provide the planning, design, and cost estimates for a three-tiered plan that will respond to different budget scenarios:

• a minimum budget that sees a renovation to improve the layout and use of the lower level and provides for an immediate response to capital repair and maintenance costs as identified in a 2021 capital needs assessment;
• a moderate budget that achieves the minimum budget items, renovates the main and second floors and the mezzanine, and provides for a planned response to the anticipated capital repair and maintenance costs for 2027-2031 as identified in the 2021 capital needs assessment; and
• an ideal budget, which would achieve the minimum and moderate budget items and add to the existing building.

Community input will be sought at several stages of the planning process. The resulting plan will prioritize improvements while being sensitive to the historical integrity of the structure and its context within the village. Sustainability will also be a consideration.

“We know that Glencoe library patrons like the warm and welcoming ambience of the building as it is now,” says Andrew Kim, executive director of the library. “Any future renovation will preserve historical features that give the building character while adding new functionality and flexibility. We also hope to add a few new favorite features.”

Situated in the heart of downtown Glencoe, the library was built in 1941. Over the years, it has seen several renovations to keep pace with changes in patron use, technology, and emerging service patterns and needs. The last major renovation, completed in 2001, added about 20% more space and featured a new preschool area on the second floor, the Young Adult/Media Room on the main floor, and the Friends of the Glencoe Public Library’s used book room on the lower level.