New community room with a nod to history

The Grafton Public Library recently unveiled an upgraded community room featuring pieces of Grafton’s history and relics of the USS Liberty, a ship after which the facility was named.

The upper-level room at the library, 1620 11th Ave., officially opened for public use Dec. 30.

“It took a little longer than expected due to the pandemic because the supply chain interrupted some of the things we ordered, but it was worth the wait,” Library Director John Hanson said, noting the village’s Public Works Department assisted in the project.

“It was previously an area that was off limits to the community unless they were in a group that reserved the space. Now, anybody can use it virtually anytime.”

Adult Services Reference Librarian Karl Suechting said the remodeling project began more than a year ago and features cafe-style seating with round tables, a coffee station, projector and displays of historical artifacts.

A few of the cases feature artifacts from the USS Liberty, a technical research ship that was attacked by Israeli forces in 1967 during the Six-Day War. The library was named after the ship in 1989.

“We want to recognize the history and honor the soldiers who died,” Suechting said. “The pieces have always been in the room, but not many people were able to see them.”  

 
The Grafton Historical Society will also rotate artifacts on display in the new room, including century-old newspapers depicting historical events.

“We have a very active Grafton Historical Society, and its members have provided us with an assortment of different things from Grafton’s early history through contemporary times,” Suechting said.

Suechting said the updated room will provide more space for visitors to be socially distant.

“We debated if we should open it up because of Covid, and we decided to in order to add more space to the library,” he said, noting only four people are allowed in the space at a time and masks are required.

After the pandemic subsides, officials said, the room will be available to more people, and groups will be able to rent the space for meetings and study sessions.

“Our goal is to eventually fit as many people who want to be in there, and we want the tables full,” Suechting said.

Hanson and Suechting credited Youth and Teen Services Librarian Nicolette Birkholz for spearheading the project.

“Her goal was to draw more people into the space,” Suechting said.

“We don’t see a ton of teens using our library as a resource, and we all hope this can be a place where they can get together for class projects or spend time reading without disturbing other visitors.”