The Galesburg City Council voted unanimously in favor of transferring funds to the Galesburg Public Library to support the construction of the new library.
The library requested $775,000 from the city to cover the technology budget for the new building. City Manager Todd Thompson recommended approval of the resolution to transfer funds at the December 5 meeting. The funds will be used to purchase and construct technology at the facility, which will include public computers, a technology lab, A/V equipment in study rooms and meeting spaces, and wiring throughout the block to provide high-speed internet access for public use.
A letter from the library to the city manager stated “few things impede job security and skill-building as much as digital illiteracy and lack of technology access, and our goal moving forward is to help alleviate this particular distress as much as possible through careful, thoughtful technology planning and implementation.” The $775,000 budget was developed with a technology consultant and includes the cost of devices, software, network, phones, security systems, and other special systems, minus savings through the E-Rate funding program which currently benefits the library.
The Galesburg Public Library board of trustees accepted a bid from Williams Brothers Construction, Inc. for the construction of the new building, scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023. The project is made possible by the State of Illinois Public Library Construction Act Grant of $15,373,257 and a local capital campaign to raise $3,750,000. The city’s contribution of $775,000 counts toward the capital campaign goal, bringing the library’s total to $2.1million raised.
To learn more about the new building, the capital campaign, and the library, visit the GPL Foundation website at thegplf.org or stop in the library, located at 40 East Simmons Street.