The Farr Regional Library is located in a beautiful brick building that sits at the edge of a park in East Greeley. Visitors of all ages can gather in the library and enjoy a bright, sunny interior, comfortable lounge seating, and a variety of book and movie collections. 

We were invited to work on a renovation for the Farr Regional Library by our friends at Studiotrope. It was our first time working with the Greeley Library District, so we were excited about having the opportunity to make an impact in a new community.

We met with Charlene Parker, the head librarian, to learn about their needs and discuss plans for the renovation. Charlene was incredibly helpful and gave us a great deal of information that we were able to use for our designs.

We decided to add some of our standard items to the library, including our Self-Checks, Jumps, and End Panels, as well as some custom items. The standard pieces were fairly straightforward, but the custom items were more difficult and required some creative thinking. With no time to spare, we set to work right away. 

For our first task, we developed a custom line of furniture that we now call the Caterpillar. This was a highly malleable product that could be used as a room divider, storage space, study area, and multimedia area all at the same time. 

The front side was made up of shelves that could be used to display books, CDs, DVDs, magazines, and other media. But the backside was entirely different and could be customized. Depending on the library’s needs, it could be used to create additional seating, display digital media, or function as a study area for students.  

We added several of these pieces to the library, and customized each one based on its destination. The unit that we added to the teen area had benches and desks on the backside. The unit that we added to the children’s area had magnetic whiteboards and manipulatives. In another area, a third unit was added which was used for storing digital media. 

Our second task was creating book bins for the children’s area. We decided to create a book drop that looked like a mailbox. This way, children would get excited about being able to return their books to the library. 

For our third and final task, we created freestanding signage that could be used for wayfinding. These were added to the library in conjunction with a piece of community art. The artistic piece made from old farming equipment found in an empty lot next to the library, and served as a reminder of the community’s origins.

We thought that the two collections paired well together. Both provided a means of wayfinding. While the signage was more literal, the community art piece was more philosophical, pointing to the past and the present. Together, they represented where the community’s history and future.

We had a lot of fun working on this project with our partners at Studiotrope, Charlene, and the other librarians. We look forward to hearing about their success and can’t wait to return in the future.