Brentwood Library soon will be biggest

$5M expansion will include larger children's area and room for recorded arts
THE TENNESSEAN • February 18, 2009
BRENTWOOD — Brentwood will have the largest library in Williamson County once construction on an 11,000-square-foot expansion is completed in the fall.
When all is said and done, the Brentwood Library will measure in at 54,000 square feet, or 4,225 square feet larger than the Williamson County Library in Franklin.
"I think it's great. If you're expanding, it means you're improving," said Lee Vaugn, a frequent computer user at the library.
Vaugn is one of the library's 1,000 daily visitors accessing the library's 145,000-item collection.
Library borrowing is up 56 percent since it opened in 1998, according to Chuck Sherrill, director of Brentwood Library, who said the increase in library traffic sparked the expansion of the 10-year-old building.
"My biggest goal is not to ruin this big, beautiful building. It has served us very well. It has just gotten overcrowded. I hope people will walk in and not notice a change," said Sherrill.
But the $5 million project will bring extensive changes to the facility. Here's a rundown of what library patrons can expect.
Recorded arts room
The newly added recorded arts room, to be located near the reference desk, will feature more than 25,000 movies, audio books and music CDs for patrons to check out. The room will be named in honor of the Friends of the Library, which contributed $50,000 to the expansion.
"The Friends have been saving up money for the past two years, knowing that the library would need our help," said Karen Anderson, treasurer.
"We raised this money selling used books donated by library users and we are happy to give it back in this way."
Children's library
Local artists are preparing to come in and transform the children's area into a creative and interactive haven for kids. A park theme and sculptures of animals are planned for the new area.
An additional kids entrance to the library is being planned — possibly a tree trunk with a hole for the kids to climb through.
The renovation will create a larger area to be used for arts and crafts, creative writing and other projects.
Missy Dillingham, the children's librarian, says the additional space will allow them to expand popular book collections.
"We're really excited about the craft room. The downtown library has something like that, so it would be really cool to have something closer," said Shelley Armstrong. She and her 4-year-old son visit the library three times a week.
Story time room
Parents can also look forward to an expansion of the story time room to three times its current size, according to Dillingham.
"The room we have now has been crowded, but everyone still comes because the program is so popular, but now we won't be like sardines in a can," said Dillingham.
As planned, a muralist will come in and paint the walls from corner to corner with imaginative paintings. Another artist will come in and design a large stained-glass window to serve as the backdrop for the room.
Brentwood Room
Library director Chuck Sherrill says he is keeping quiet the name of the major contributor who is funding the expansion of the famed Brentwood Room, which houses local history and genealogy materials.
The room was closed in October and will open with more space and a new look, according to Sherrill. Rare books and files kept in the room are currently being housed in a storage space. The donor's name will be revealed when work on the project is complete.
More computers, conference space
The addition will add a new computer lab that will seat 15, to be used for special training and classes in addition to the library's current 25 computers being used by patrons.
More study rooms and a conference room that can be used by the public for meetings also are in the works. The 16-seat conference room and the five study rooms will be equipped with large wall-mounted computer screens specifically designed for meetings and instructional programs.
Several organizations and individuals are helping to raise funds for the expansion, including the Friends group, Brentwood Library Foundation and Leadership Brentwood.