Greeley fielded ideas from their community during their planning phase for the re-envisioned library. Residents told them they wanted a place where children can be entertained while learning, where new technologies are made available to all, where teens and adults can learn new skillsets and a place where the community could gather for events. That resulted in the city purchasing an old newspaper printing facility and converting it into everything the community wanted and more.
Beavers said she, and others, spent years calling and visiting libraries around the world that featured unique approaches to serving their communities. From libraries in the United States to others as far as Japan, Greeley collected the best ideas from each library and found a way to place it in the LINC. The facility, located on the north side of Downtown Greeley at 8th Avenue, opened in the middle of May after years of construction. The library is great for children and adults.
Of course, it still offers thousands of books for people of all reading levels. It also features computers and other quiet spaces. However, most people tend to gravitate toward the interactive learning opportunities the building offers. Children can ascend their way to the second floor through a climbing maze that starts in the lobby.
Adults can meet up with them by taking a large staircase that leads them to a room filled with science and educational exploration. Children can learn about aerodynamics by making paper planes and launching them with a machine designed for making them soar through the clouds. You can play with a series of light switches that change the colors of the roof of the room, teaching people about mixing colors and hues.
A wall of workspaces allows people of all ages to get creative by making things out of paper, cardboard, coffee filters and more. Nearby, a virtual ball pit reacts as people walk through the projection on their way to a real ball pit that teaches visitors about motion and energy. At the front of the room you can launch miniature figurines with parachutes into the air with a burst of air. And when you are done with all of those stops, you can make your way into the children's play area which features a hidden hallway that lets kids explore things like the awes of the Poudre River before ending up in a hideaway that quietly allows kids to look out and over the shelves of books below.
