3/2/2007 | Inside the front door, the airy lobby is open to the second floor above. The coffee shop and meeting room pavilion will be built in the background of this view, where steel beams are visible as a blur beyond the plastic sheeting.

3/2/2007 | Turning left from the lobby, a staircase (yet to be constructed) will rise beside this magnificent limestone wall, lit by a skylight above. On this day, stone masons were washing the newly applied limestone surface.

3/2/2007 | This view from the children’s area looks back toward the lobby. Angled walls create a sense of depth. At this point, work had not yet begun on the staircase and bridges above. For a sense of scale, look for the man in a hardhat at the bottom of the yellow scaffolding.

3/2/2007 | Limestone slabs sit in the lobby area. To the left of the people in this photo, an engraved glass wall will recognize significant gifts to the library. Above that, a comfortable reading area and the fiction collection will look down on the lobby.

3/2/2007 | The opening in this low wall on the second floor shows where one of two bridges will cross the open stairwell area. This view looks north and west into the nonfiction area.

3/2/2007 | Standing at the south end of the second floor, this view looks north and west. (You can see the old schoolhouse at the corner of Healey and State Streets outside the window.) Some of the angled, sun-shading brick pillars can be seen at the left, in the west wall. The magazine and newspaper collections will be in the corner where the photo was taken, with nonfiction books and seating areas beyond.

3/2/2007 | Second floor, north wall. Raised flooring, which will hide cabling and wiring and allow easy access for updates, will eventually be level with the bottom of the windows. The library makes the most of soft, northern light. Window areas will be lined with comfortable chairs. The glass, one of many energy efficient features, has a reflective coating and an insulating layer of argon gas between the panes. Dozens of small skylights will also reduce the need for artificial lighting on the second floor.

5/4/2007 | In early May, cabling and wiring were laid directly onto the floor. Raised access flooring will cover it but allow easy access for updating and maintenance.

5/4/2007 | Round skylights will pepper the second floor with natural light throughout the nonfiction collection and reading and study areas. Looking toward the west wall.

5/4/07 | Masons install square limestone facing on the east wall of the lobby. The area under the overhang here will have new materials behind a glass wall. Above that is a comfortable reading area.

5/4/07 | Another view of masonry work on the east wall of the lobby.

5/4/2007 | Looking from the lobby into the coffee shop and meeting room area. There will be coffee shop seating where people are standing in this photo. To the left of that, behind a wall that is yet to be constructed, will be the large meeting room with a capacity of 150. Look in the bottom right of this page for a small drawing from almost the same vantage point.

5/4/2007 | This view shows part of the large meeting room, toward the left, and, where people are standing, the coffee shop seating area in the meeting room pavilion.

5/4/2007 | Steel work progresses on the main stairway and bridge.

5/4/2007 | The view of the public stairway from the children’s department, looking back toward the lobby. To the right of the stairs, on the main floor, will be the new collections and, straight above that, the fiction area.

5/4/2007 | At the top right in this photo, plywood temporarily sits in for a skylight. The area to the left of this atrium will house the Checkout Desk and the children’s department.

5/4/2007 | On the lower level, books will be automatically checked in and pre-sorted by a system of conveyors and bins. Here, the conveyor coming in from the left brings in books returned inside the library. Coming down from the right is the conveyor from the outside book drops, at the back of the library. The sorting system is not yet installed.

7/6/2007 | Looking south through the lobby to the existing library. The entry vestibule will be between the pillars at the center of this photo. Just to the right of the pillars, on the first floor, will be the glass donor wall.

7/6/2007 | The coffee shop seating area, with angled windows, is seen from the large meeting room, through a wall that has not yet been constructed.

7/6/2007 | Library Board Member Bob Shierry passes by the base of the grand public stairway, lit by a skylight. Limestone stair treads are covered for protection.

7/6/2007 | Champaign City Council members, including Tom Bruno, left, and Marci Dodds, center, saw the raised access flooring being installed. This flooring provides access to wiring and cabling laid beneath it, making updates and changes easier.

8/24/2007 | The north wall of the room for children’s programs has one door opening for tall people (where two men are standing) and one for small people (to the right).

8/24/2007 | This curved wall stands behind the Checkout Desk. You can see raised access flooring partially installed, allowing room for wiring and ductwork that is easily accessible for updating.

8/24/2007 | Ceiling tile is installed on the second floor near the skylight over the main staircase.

8/24/07 | These copper mesh fins, seen from the inside, will help shade the sun on the west wall. The Solon House is seen in the background, across State Street.

9/7/2007 | A view from the lobby as glass railing is installed in the reading area above. A glass wall etched with donor names will be where the scaffolding stands in this photo.

9/7/2007 | On the second floor, the Information Desk, along with the wall behind it, are covered in bamboo.

9/20/07 | Bamboo surrounds the book drop inside the lobby. Everything can be returned into one slot. A conveyor takes materials to be automatically checked in and sorted. Raised access flooring, yet to be installed here, will raise the level of the flooring about a foot.

9/20/07 | Ceiling tile goes in place in the sunny southwest corner, where the magazines and newspapers will be. Automatic sun shades in this area will control light levels and help save energy.

10/10/07 | Furniture is going in as it arrives. Tables are popping up all around the library. Carpet tiles in a random pattern will be easy to maintain and replace as needed.

10/10/07 | Shelving is being installed on the second floor, where the nonfiction books will be.

11/1/07 | The doors in the children’s program room are being installed, one for children and one for grown-ups.

11/1/07 | Study tables and chairs are being unpacked now. Many of the window areas will be lined with tables and, to come later, comfy chairs for reading.

12/17/07 | We’re moving in now, and the magazines have just been placed on their shelves.

12/17/07 | DVDs stand face-out in the new materials area, which is just inside the front doors. In the background, one of our architects, Monica, studies a plan.

12/18/07 | Gordon takes a break with a book in the nonfiction area upstairs.

12/18/07 | Another view of the nonfiction area, where shelves have been starting to fill up with books.

12/07/07 | The west side of the library is filled with places to sit and bright sunlight. The historic Solon House is seen outside the window.

12/31/07 | The fiction reading area, up above the lobby.

1/2/08 | Richard Taylor, at left, and Judy Young install the glass donor wall in the lobby.

1/2/08 | The west end of the library is filled with study tables and chairs.