Before opening at its current location, the North Park branch was known as Meadow Park and was located just down the road on First Avenue. Meadow Park branch opened its doors on December 9, 1968, with a capacity for 41,000 books, magazines, records, and pamphlets. The building cost $242,760, which is more than $2,100,000 in today’s money. Meadow Park was part of a decade-long expansion trend for the library system, with the McCollough branch opening in 1965 and the Oaklyn branch ten years later. Meadow Park was used extensively during its first year of existence, with 148,000 circulations, which accounted for 12 percent of the library system’s total.
By 2005, it was time to expand again, and a new library building was on the agenda. As before, the new EVPL North Park was part of a wave of new and renovated libraries. EVPL Oaklyn had been remodeled in 2003, and EVPL Central opened in 2004. The new EVPL North Park library was designed to look like a lodge in a National Park, with high ceilings and a flagstone fireplace. At 20,000 feet, it was nearly twice the size of its predecessor, which was a testament to how much library services had expanded. It opened on April 9, 2005.
EVPL North Park through the years
Michelle H., who has worked at North Park for thirty years, has a broad perspective of the library. As she puts it, “Twenty years ago, this building was a new and unique architectural wonder in this area. The soaring wood-beamed ceilings, the fireplace, children’s mural … It mirrors national park lodges and restaurants out west, and its design was nationally recognized. I like to think people had a sense of pride that this was ‘their’ library.” She also mentioned how the children’s programming has been very popular, and the emphasis can be seen in the design with a children’s tower and mural. There is a natural connection with youth since EVPL North Park is just a block away from Central High School.
As with the opening of Meadow Park, the new North Park was front page news.
However, in order to provide even better library service, EVPL North Park was recently renovated again. The theme this time was to provide better lighting and space. A large bookshelf was taken down, and lighter paint, carpet, and wood were added, which increased the natural light tremendously. Also, EVPL North Park has combined the reference and circulation desks, which has improved service to patrons and created more room. The desk is positioned in the front of the building, so it is the first thing patrons see when they come in.
EVPL North Park location manager Veronica L. likes the new changes and notes that patrons have shown a great deal of loyalty to the library. She thinks that it is great that different generations of families feel comfortable coming to the library and believes that the revamp has enriched their experience. Patrons seem to agree with her, leaving comments like, “It seems like a brand new library!” and “It seems so nice in here.”
Michelle perhaps sums up the EVPL North Park experience the best, “We are so lucky to have this beautiful environment, and a cohesive staff, to serve the patrons of North Park. A long-time patron asked me not long ago what I liked best about my job. My response was, “Making connections, often long-term relationships, with people. They’re why we’re here.”
