Joliet library users should find more space for kids, new spots to meet, and a better view of the greenery outside the Black Road Branch.

That was the plan behind the one-year, $4.8 million interior renovation now completed.

The Joliet Public Library held an open house on Friday to showcase the changes to the branch at 3395 Black Road.

One satisfied patron at the library was Marie Suligoy, age 10.

“It’s a place where you can read and have fun at the same time,” Suligoy said.

She described the new Kid Zone as “huge.”

Features include a Book Burrow cabin where children can play and a larger story time area farther from the adult library section so as to mute any noise for patrons who prefer quiet.

The renovation involved a rearranging, not enlarging, of the building.

But creating a separate space for children with more kid-friendly features was one of the main goals.

So was creating an atmosphere where patrons felt closer to the Rock Run Preserve that borders the library lawn.

Colors and textures “found inspiration” from the natural setting, Kristin Richardson, architect with the firm Engberg Anderson, said of the redesign.

Richardson said patrons should find more “places where they can look outdoors.”

Joliet Public Library Executive Director Megan Millen said patrons will find more places where they can meet with each other, too,

The number of study rooms, which also serve as meeting places, has doubled from two to four. A teen room has been added for teenagers to gather.

“Every improvement was made with our community in mind,” Millen said in remarks during a ceremony before the open house. “Libraries today are dynamic places where everybody is welcome.”

Anders Dahlgren, principle with Library Planning Associates, also involved in the project, commented on the same theme.

“The library of the 20th Century was about collections, while the library of the 21st Century is about connectivity,” Dahlgren.

Many library patrons may be disappointed, however, that the redesigned Black Road Branch does not bring back the coffee shop.

The popular Book and Bean Cafe closed at the end of 2023 when its owners retired.

Library management at the time said it would not replace the cafe but consider it while the redesign was in the works. The new Black Road Branch does not include a cafe.

It does include a gathering area with chairs and tables in the former cafe space. But instead of hot coffee, sandwiches and pastry, there are two vending machines.

Millen said the space remains popular with patrons.

“It’s a place for people to meet,” she said. “It’s always in use.”

Patrons at the open house overall appeared happy with the renovation.

“The changes are great,” said Gino Ballone, who was there with his family. “This is brighter and more modernized than in the past.”

The renovations were the first major changes made at the Black Road Branch since it opened in 2002.

The Joliet Public Library is a city library. It has a board of trustees and property tax levy, but both must be approved by the City Council.

The city provided a $3.5 million loan to fund the renovation project, and several city officials were at the library ceremony.

“We’re all so very grateful for what you’ve done to renovate this library,” Mayor Terry D’Arcy said whole commenting on a new atmosphere in the building. “The renovation has changed the feel when you walk in.”