Malletts Creek Ready To Open

Innovative design marks new library branch

LARRY E. WRIGHT,THE ANN ARBOR NEWS

Eli Neiburger, information technology manager for the new Ann Arbor District Library Malletts Creek branch, talks about the library's self check-out stations. Saturday will be the grand opening of the new facility, which replaces the Loving branch.

Malletts Creek ready to open

New library is cutting edge,ecologically and technologically

BY JO COLLINS MATHIS

News Staff Reporter

It’s not your father’s library. It’s not even your slightly older sister’s library.

Visitors should prepare to be amazed when the Ann Arbor District Library’s new Malletts Creek branch opens for business Saturday.

From the vending machines and soaring ceilings to the cozy chairs beside the fireplace to the state-of-the-art technology and ecologically sensitive features, the building will serve as a stylish community center with an emphasis on learning.

“Ann Arbor’s very lucky to have a library like this,” said cabinet-maker George Brennan of Lapeer, one of many workers busy this week completing final details.

At 3090 E. Eisenhower Pkwy., just west of the Eisenhower/Packard split, the $4.9 million building replaces the 3,500-square-foot Loving branch a mile east that had served southeast Ann Arbor since 1965.

The money comes from millage approved by the residents of the library district in 1996.

Patrons will appreciate the new building’s open, airy feel and the use of sustainable systems, said architect Carl Luckenbach of Luckenbach-Ziegelman Architects of Ann Arbor.

“I believe it’s going to be a huge surprise for people who are regular users of the former library, which was cramped, crowded and stretched to the absolute limit,” Luckenbach said.

The one-story, 14,600-square-foot library maximizes the energy available from the environment. The sustainable systems added about 15 percent to the cost of the building but will eventually pay for themselves, Luckenbach said.

Built along Malletts Creek, which flows through an underground pipe, the library is a showcase of innovative stormwater management, according to Laura Rubin, executive director of the Huron River Watershed Council in Ann Arbor. “This is wonderful, because it’s a public venue and it’s a great way for people to see what can be done,” she said.

Karen Hart, planning director for the city of Ann Arbor, is also impressed.

“I wish every public building would try to incorporate such environmentally friendly and innovative techniques,” she said.

Among many other features, the building boasts a vegetated roof with plants

growing in a few inches of soil to help with insulation and stormwater management and a heating system that uses a radiant circulating hot water system in the floor instead of a forced air system, which makes for a quieter building.

“There’s something here for everyone,” said Library Director Josie Parker. “People will be very pleased.”

Among the many crowd-pleasers is a 24-hour pick-up system that allows a patron to request a book during regular business hours and pick it up from a locker after hours by punching in a number. Three self check-out machines allow patrons to slide their cards in, place all materials on the unit and quickly receive a receipt with the day each item is due. And a spacious program and meeting room means the main library will no longer be the only venue for larger gatherings.

The new Malletts Creek branch will hold its grand opening 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. All Ann Arbor libraries are open noon-6 p.m. Sunday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday; 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; and 9 a.m.-6 p.m Saturday.

Jo Collins Mathis can be reached at (734) 994-6849 or jmathis@annarbornews.com.