Noble Library reopens May 23

What’s old and new, bigger and brighter and comes in the same-size box it did before?

The Noble Neighborhood Library Branch, that’s what! The brick building originally designed by Walker and Weeks closed for renovation on Oct. 1. Seven months later, on Monday, May 23, at 1 p.m., it will reopen.

“The spaces are bigger--the adult, teen and children departments all have more room,” said new branch manager Constance Dickerson. “We achieved this by reducing meeting room space and giving the library over to families.”  

“The interior is the perfect blend of old and new,” she adds. “We returned the library to its 1936 design roots.”

Prior to the library opening for business, the Friends of the Heights Libraries will host a sneak-peek fundraiser on Thursday, May 12. Proceeds from the party will pay for the full-sized tree sculpture that will adorn the children’s room.

The public is invited to a grand-reopening party on Sunday, May 15, with light refreshments and music. Partygoers can meet Eliot Ness and Eleanor Roosevelt, actors who will recreate the era of Noble’s original opening in 1936. Tours of the building - at 2800 Noble Road - will also be offered.

The eight-foot-tall tree will be a focal point of the children’s room. Its bark has pockets for puppets, and its branches will filter a sunburst of light from the ceiling. Wooden houses that were a fixture of the librarian's desk in the old library have been preserved and will return to the bookshelves in the new room. Other features of the room include a tunnel to crawl through, a fish tank to ponder and, of course, books, music, magazines and computers. An early literacy room, paid for by a federally-funded grant obtained through the state library, is designed for members of the under-five crowd and their parents.