Politics & Government

North Branch Library Gets New Paint Job

After more than two decades with the same coat of white paint on the walls, the North Branch of the Evanston Public Library is now freshly painted in red, blue and green.

Fresh coats of red, blue and green now cover the walls of the North Branch of the Evanston Public Library, after more than 20 years under the same coat of white paint.

"We'll try to do it more often in the future," quipped Karen Danczak Lyons, library director.

Lyons and other local officials gathered at the North Branch Wednesday for a grand reopening, when the new coats of paint were unveiled.

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"People have come in and said, 'Oh, it looks so much more alive,'" said library assistant Nancy Engel. Engel said the branch was also celebrating its 60th anniversary, and noted that staff had used the painting as an opportunity to clean out old materials dating as far back as 1984.

The investment in painting at the North Branch comes less than two years after the city closed the South Branch of the Evanston Public Library, citing lack of funds.

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Library board president Benjamin Schapiro said the money reaffirmed the importance of outreach services.

"The ability for the library to be outside of its walls is important," he said, referring to the main library, "and how that is expressed is determined by the needs of the community."


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