Groundbreaking for Rhinelander library expansion expected in 2025

2025 promises to be momentous year for the historic Rhinelander District Library as the groundbreaking for a long-desired renovation and expansion project is expected to take place.

On Wednesday morning, library officials formally kicked off a capital campaign to fund the $7 million project with the unveiling of plans for the 7,650 square foot addition to the more than 100-year-old building.

Retired Rhinelander District Library Director Kris Adams Wendt, center, and former library board of trustees president Jan Baer, right, joined current library director Virginia Roberts, left, in celebrating the planned $7 million library project.
(Photo by Heather Schaefer/River News)

Library director Virginia Roberts noted that the library’s board of trustees spent several years contemplating this project before determining the best possible plan of action.

“Over the last decade, we have seen more people coming in the building, more people requiring meeting spaces, places to sit, updated technology, just about everything you could possibly imagine,” she explained. “More space for children, we’ve had an increase, particularly since the (COVID-19) pandemic, we’ve had an increase in children’s needs.”

“This is for the community,” she added. “One of the things that has been a consistent theme is we do not have a community room that is open to the public, an after hours area available for that. That is one of the big pieces here.”

Libraries are “change agents,” she added. “We need to evolve with the community...”

Handouts distributed during Wednesday’s event included a detailed history of the library’s evolution.

The library was founded in 1897, and opened its doors on March 1, 1898, in the original Merchants State Bank building (now at the BMO Bank corner). The original Carnegie Library building was completed in 1904.

In 1983, the Friends of the Rhinelander District Library sponsored an advisory referendum to build a new facility. Public sentiment to preserve the historic building at its significant location and the desire to keep construction costs economical led to the decision to construct an addition, which was completed in 1985.

Roberts stressed that the library is a free source of education and entertainment for literally everyone from the youngest in the community (early literacy) to the oldest of citizens. 

“This is one of the few places left on the planet that you can walk in and there’s no expectation of having to paying anything outright to come into the building and just be,” she said, noting that the always available Wi-Fi and a myriad of other resources are key in assisting those who work remotely, especially while their families are vacationing in the Northwoods.

“There are a lot of businesses that would not be in this area were it not for the library and a lot of families that would not move here were it not for the library,” she said. “It’s a cultural institution.”

Pictured is a model of what the Rhinelander District Library will look like following the completion of a $7 million renovation and expansion project.
(Photo by Heather Schaefer/River News)The timeline for the groundbreaking for the addition is dependent on fundraising but Robert said she’s confident it will take place in 2025.

“It needs to happen now,” she said. “It’s the right time with the right people in the right place.”

Jan Baer, former president of the library’s board of trustees, was impressed with the turnout for the kick-off event.

“We’ve been working for a long time, off and on, to accomplish something for this library because it’s been bursting at the seams for as long as I can remember,” she said. “I’m just happy to see that we’re finally getting something going.”

Kris Adams Wendt, former director of the library and a part-time employee of the Wisconsin Valley Library Service, has seen the library’s evolution up close over the last five decades.

“It’s been 50 years since I was hired to work in this library as a children’s library,” she said. “I was here for the 1984-85 addition and saw the great outpouring of support from this community for their library and I’m confident that the Rhinelander community will turn out again and support this new project because the library is our community’s living room and it needs our help.”

According to the handout, the renovation and expansion will include the following:

• Restrooms on the main level.

• Replacement of the existing elevator and reconfiguration of the stairwell to the lower level.

• Building maintenance including replacing leaking windows.

• Enhancing and adding community meeting spaces, and adding work and study spaces.

• New entrances that will be safer and more accessible, meeting the current Americans with Disability Act standards.

• Improvements and expanded space for the Children’s area.

• Updating staff work areas.

While the expansion will reduce the number of parking spaces in the current parking lot on the north side of the building, the library plans to add parking to the east side of the building, and hopes to sell and move the home that is currently the Re-Tale Store, according to the handout.

In addition, outdoor spaces will be improved, and include a perennial garden. Walk-up and drive-up book drops will also be more easily accessible.

Roberts indicated the model and floor plans will remain in the library, near the circulation desk, so that patrons can view them and learn more about the project.

The Rhinelander District Library Foundation, Inc., is leading the fundraising campaign. It  is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

The Foundation is creating a new PayPal account so that individuals may safely and securely donate online. This option will be available shortly at RDLfoundation.org.

Contributions may also be mailed to the RDL Foundation at P.O. Box 1225, Rhinelander, WI 54501.

Roberts also said library officials are pursuing grant funding for the project. 

It should be noted that donations to the capital campaign will only be used to fund the renovation and expansion. The library’s operational expenses will continue to be managed by the board of trustees and staff through the annual budget.