What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1439772
kitchen has been carefully designed in partnership with Northwest Arkansas Community College's Brightwater culinary department in order to offer concurrent college credit opportunities for Fayetteville Public High School students. The library's new "casual deli" is located right outside the teaching kitchen, allowing visitors to grab a quick sandwich or salad and watch new chefs through the viewing window. Herrera says in addition to the Brightwater training, the kitchen can host culinary programming by professional chefs and cookbook authors, as well as opportunities for the community at large. "We are planning to offer culinary training for all ages and are in continued conversations with a variety of partners to provide the training," says Johnson. "Everything from teaching young children how to make healthy snacks to sommelier classes for adults is being considered." Johnson adds that access to the teaching kitchen will be open to the community, "including private entrepreneurs and small business owners seeking additional space and capacity for their enterprises. What is exciting is the potential for FPL to help meet the demand in this market." ART AND MOVEMENT ROOM With its floor-to-ceiling windows, gorgeous softwood dance floor, ballet barre and towering room-length mirror, I just assumed that the pretty grouping of multi-colored pegs at the far end of the Art and Movement Room was another art installation. "No, those are just pegs for coats," said Herrera. It's an easy mistake to make when you're standing in the middle of the airy, chic room, which is the first to greet you when you walk into the new expansion. The Art and Movement Room will no doubt draw interested people further into the building, but, as Herrera points out, the billowing curtains can be drawn to offer a bit more privacy. "You could definitely feel self-conscious doing yoga in here if people can look in and see everything," she says with a laugh. "You might be able to still see a bit of the movement inside but not, 'Oh, there's my friend Sandy, doing Downward Dog.'" Herrera says the FPL envisions classes like tai chi, yoga and dance will be held in this room, as well as adult art classes when tables are added. "Personally, I am really excited for the Art and Movement Room," says Fitzgibbon. "Intellectual wellness and physical wellness are closely tied, and having affordable, unintimidating access to movement-based programs provides important health literacy to our community. I am also excited for all of the opportunities the expansion offers my preschool- age daughter, who will grow up with tremendous access to the arts and technology." Post-pandemic, Hoover says the room will be available to local organizations as a rental for dance and exercise classes. CHILDREN'S LIBRARY If you're between the ages of 6 months and 18 years old, you can't help but feel valued by the FPL's expansion. Or so my 10-year-olds tell me, loudly and multiple times, on the way home from our tour. The new building doubles the space dedicated to these age groups, with 32,000 square feet split into three separate areas for pre-schoolers, grade schoolers and teenagers. Each new area has its own distinct personality: Bright colors and accessible book bins will attract preschoolers to their downstairs space, and they won't be able to tear their eyes away from the retired antique airplanes that swoop above their heads as they hang from the soaring ceiling. The Walmart Story Time Room has a puppet theater, and the dedicated craft room means no more juggling chairs and art supplies to try and make one room fit all needs. Two parents' rooms also allow for quiet feedings. Upstairs, the space for early adolescents features comfortable chair groupings and tables. My kids couldn't take their eyes from the row after row of chapter books, many of which are new. Study rooms and alcoves line one side of the room, offering ample space for quiet retreats. Across the way, you'll find the teenage space, decorated in a soothing blue with hip, space- age swivel chairs. Cunning little nooks are cut into the walls, complete with electrical outlets with which to charge devices, and study rooms come complete with large monitors. Oh, and there's a dedicated game room, something my children were beside themselves to discover — though they'll have to wait a year to enjoy it. The teen section is limited to kids from the ages of 11 to 18; while others can access the books in that section, hanging out is strictly limited to that age range. THE J.B. AND JOHNELLE HUNT FAMILY CENTER FOR INNOVATION Herrera says part of the planning for the expansion was to take a look at libraries all over the world and pull a little bit from the best of them. "Our whole goal is to expand your knowledge," she says. "Literacy goes beyond books. You can be literate in so many things — you just need the opportunity." If there's one thing the Center for Innovation offers, it's opportunity. This suite of studios will feature audio and video production facilities, podcasting booths, a fabrication and robotics lab, a virtual reality studio, a computer bank and co-working space, a photo studio and a simulation lab for forklifts, backhoe, aviation, standard vehicle and CDL training. Herrera says everything here is designed for a range of abilities, from the casual hobbyist to the person looking to boost their career with new skills. YEAR IN REVIEW 38 WHAT'S UP! JANUARY 2-8, 2022 Library Continued From Page 5 UPDATE Opening an new 80,000-plus-square-foot wing of a public library during a pandemic cannot be easy — though the folks at the Fayetteville Public Library sure made it look as though it was. In their "2021 in Review" flyer sent out to library patrons this month, the library announced that there had been more than 1 million checkouts this year; staff had served more than 1,500 people through outreach programs; logged 4,165 volunteer hours; added 15,545 new items to their collections; and hosted 695 programs with 13,726 attendees. "Our library card registration numbers unfortu- nately dropped off last year due to the pandemic, but we are currently at a 47% increase from 2020, getting us right back to 2018/2019 numbers," says Willow Fitzgibbon, director of library services. "We're sure the expansion is a factor of this — we have seen a lot of new patrons come to the library to experience the new spaces, including the Center for Innovation, study and meeting rooms, and the Youth and Teen Libraries. We expect the number of patrons will continue to grow as we start offering more and more in-person programming, specifically our daily story times." Sarah McClure, manager of youth and teen services, says the teen section — with all of its nooks and cran- nies and gathering spaces — has been very popular. "Groups of teens frequently gather to study, hang out or read," says McClure. "It is not uncommon for visitors to be in awe of the space, the view, and the seating! We have board games and a button maker that we offer for something extra to do in the space, and the gaming room is open and available for check- out. Because this space is for grades 5-12 only, it is a delight to see teens discover the space, feel at home there and engage with peers. Librarians are always there to help with the collection, open study rooms, or just chat with teen library patrons. And, of course, since the space is attractive to all ages, librarians are also there to make sure the space fills with teens only!" Melissa Taylor, manager of the state-of-the-art J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Center for Innovation, says that space has been more popular than originally imagined. "On any given day there are several reservations booked over our various suites," she says. "In the Fabrication and Robotics Lab we have seen every single class, orientation and maker lab fill up within a couple of days. The Audio Recording Studio is constantly booked by musicians and other recording artists — there have been over 250 individual reserva- tions made since June. The Simulation Lab is taking off in popularity, and the flight simulator has been the most popular piece of equipment in the CFI with over 300 reservations since opening." The new, huge event center has gotten some serious use this year, including hosting two TheatreSquared shows ("Matilda" and "A Christmas Carol"). As live events continue to regain momentum, FPL event coordinator Kristen Hoover says the center will see a lot more traffic in the coming days. "We are so excited to be offering this space and we have loved how the community has used it," says Hoover. "We are booked for several nonprofit galas in early spring, but the thing that I am looking forward to the most is the dance recitals. There have been many local dance studios reaching out to FPL to host their company recitals. It's great to see!"