‘Truly a showstopper’: Rockford Public Library celebrates long-awaited opening of new main branch
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Cathy Slothower and her son Justin kept eager eyes on the new Rockford Public Library as it rose from the ground up over the past two and a half years.
“We’ve been very excited to follow the building of it,” she said. “We’ll drive by occasionally and say, oh look, look, look.”
On Saturday, they and hundreds of others finally got an inside look after the 66,000-square-foot, three-story library on the riverfront at 215 N. Wyman St. opened to the public for the first time.
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The library is an important place for the Slothowers. Justin Slothower received an autism diagnosis when he was 3, and at the time he didn’t talk, his mother said. He learned to speak by checking out library books with the companion VHS tape, and he would follow along in the book as the video played. The first was “Hop on Pop,” a classic Dr. Seuss book.
“He would sit with the book in his hand, ‘Hop on Pop,’ and he made the connection between what they were saying and the words on the page,” Cathy Slothower said. “Dr. Seuss taught him how to talk.”
Now 33, Justin Slothower is such an enthusiastic library fan that his mother has to limit him to five books and two movies per trip. His room is filled with Dr. Seuss books, and they’re in English, Spanish, French and Italian.
“This new library is humongous. I love it,” Justin Slothower said. “It’s also stupendous, I think.”
The new main branch of the library was built on the same site as the previous one, but this time it was designed to take better advantage of its placement along the Rock River.
Each floor has outdoor access to step onto balconies or patios and take in a view of downtown. There are also quiet reading rooms and other spaces along the wall of windows that overlook the river.
“This facility is truly a showstopper outside and inside,” Mayor Tom McNamara said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on steps of the library at the west bank of the river.
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The mayor said the city’s downtown revitalization isn’t complete without so-called “third spaces” — places outside of your home or work that are accessible to all.
“The library is that place right here in the heart of our city,” he said. “It’s so much more to our community than the four walls. It covertly at times will help with literacy development with our young children if they’re playing or singing or dancing or listening to stories.
“The library provides a place where adults can learn about literally anything. They can even earn their high school diploma.”
The $39 million project was overseen by Scandroli Construction and designed by Studio GWA and Engberg Anderson Architects with IMEG Corp. and Fehr Graham. There were roughly 40 local subcontractors and more than 300 people employed during construction. Work began in October 2021.
The library’s first floor Youth Services Department has places for both reading and play. There’s a slide, a stage area, a video gaming area, a baby garden for crawlers, computers with big buttons that have no internet access but educational games and activities for kids, and other multisensory play components.
“I think this will be a weekend activity from now on,” said Casey Campbell, who attended the opening with her children Noah Garcia, 5, and Samantha Garcia, 7. “They’re having a great time, so I think it’s going to be really nice to have somewhere for them to play and read.
“There’s so many different rooms, quiet spaces, creative spaces, if you want to read or study. It seems like it’s going to be great.”
The second floor has computers, study spaces and quiet reading areas. There’s a Teen Zone that has a collection curated for teenagers, games and spaces for them to study or hangout with other teens.
There are also hands-on learning spaces on the second floor with 3-D printers, laser cutters, sewing machines, T-shirt presses and a video and audio recording studio. Such places are designed to help people cultivate their hobbies or learn new job skills.
“This library library, this ribbon-cutting, this dedication today is not just about a building – although it is beautiful – and it’s not just about books,” said Paul Logli, president of the library’s board of trustees.
“It’s about knowledge in all its forms: Written word, spoken word, song, dance, art, poetry, meetings, seminars, research, and yes – videos, games and playtime.”
There is also a third floor local history room with a climate-controlled vault to protect important resources. That floor also includes a board meeting room and an event space available to rent for conferences, weddings or other celebrations.
Parking is underground with about 50 spaces in a garage beneath the facility. There is also street parking and municipal lots across Wyman Street.
“As the state librarian, we oversee a little over 1,800 libraries throughout the state of Illinois,” said Alexi Giannoulias, who is the Illinois Secretary of State and the state librarian. “This is one of the most extraordinarily stunning libraries I have ever seen in my whole life.”
The library was built after ComEd, which had ownership ties to a previous gas plant on the site, had to demolish the previous main branch as part of an environmental cleanup of soil on the site.
The project ran roughly a year behind schedule, and inflation and supply-chain issues drove costs over budget by more than $6 million. ComEd covered $36 million of the $39 million cost. Fundraising and library reserve funds covered the rest.
The end result was impressive for those who were among the library’s first guests.
“All the sections downstairs for kids, they put a lot of attention to detail in that,” said Arely Ceniceros, who browsed through books with her 1-year-old daughter, Italia. “They did a really great job, and I’m happy to see how it turned out.”
For library officials, the building offers the potential to draw in people and foster a lifelong love of literacy and learning.
“We know the value of a community having a robust, attentive library system,” said Lynn Stainbrook, the library’s executive director. “We believe this building will bring more people into the library to discover the wealth of resources Rockford Public Library has.”
About | Main Branch
Where: 215 N. Wyman St., Rockford
Hours: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed on Sunday
On the web: rockfordpubliclibrary.org
More photos | Rockford Public Library
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
