Morton Mandan Public Library

The Library

The Morton Mandan Public Library (MMPL) was founded in 2007 when Morton County and Mandan libraries merged to offer collaborative services across the county. The library now serves the county’s 32,000 residents plus visitors to the area.

The Morton Mandan Public Library takes pride in offering free and accessible resources and being a hub for community education, enrichment, and entertainment. The library’s mission is to build an inclusive community of lifelong learners. MMPL loans more than just books; they host activities, provide free Wi-Fi, offer computer access, share park passes, maintain a bookmobile, and much more.

The city of Mandan (ND) is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country, with a population increase of almost 13% since 2010. The library knew it had to make some facility improvements to meet the growing demand within its community.

The library conducted a community survey on library usage, services, and user demographics in July-August 2018. The results from the survey solidified the fact that the library facilities needed to be renovated and updated.

The Challenge

The library and city received a donation so they could make renovations including adding workspace, a bookmobile garage, and meeting space to the library, as well as enhancing the attached community park. The original plan was to reuse the library shelving and furniture but as library staff packed up the books and prepared to move the 22’ long shelving units to a temporary location, it became evident that the shelving was no longer safe and durable. The staff knew that purchasing shelving and furniture would be a high priority.

The Morton Mandan Library staff knew that they wanted their renovated library space to be accessible for all. They wanted to have nooks where patrons could “hunker down” and read a book or visit with a friend. It was important to have a space that was also flexible and moveable to accommodate a variety of functions, programs, and events. The staff wanted to create an inviting, engaging space that was fresh and bright but also cozy for patrons.

The Connection

Library Director, Barb Sandstrom, started researching library shelving and furniture companies that could offer the specific elements that she and the other library staff were looking for.  They found several libraries in Canada with furnishings that impressed them and met the criteria that they were looking for. All the libraries had one thing in common…they were designed and furnished by Opening the Book North America! Barb decided to reach out to the company and see what they could for the Morton Mandan library project.

The Opening the Book design team worked with Barb to create an initial design concept for the library. Due to the size of the project, MMPL had to go through a formal bidding process though. Opening the Book submitted a proposal response for the bid along with several other vendors.

MMPL staff and library board members studied each proposal closely. The decision to award the project to Opening the Book North America was unanimous!

Opening the Book’s proposed layout and products were the best choice for Morton Mandan Public Library. The staff agreed that the discovery layout personalized to their library building, the features of the shelving units, the flexibility of the products, and the overall aesthetics made it the right fit for their library and goals for the space.

The Design

MMPL had four separate spaces that required a design and furnishings. The Opening the Book team worked with MMPL staff to finalize the custom layouts for the library’s entrance area called the Circulation/Computer Center, the Adult Reading Room, the Teen Reading Room, and the Children/Junior Reading Room.

It was important that the design concepts met the capacity requirements of the library’s existing collection. At least 50% of the bookcases were planned to be mobile to create flexible, multipurpose spaces. Also, bookcases were planned at appropriate heights for the age levels using each space, and to create good sight lines throughout the rooms. Windows weren’t blocked to allow for optimal natural light. It was also important to make each space within the library accessible for all and meet ADA requirements.

MMPL’s entryway was planned with Book Tables and wall shelving so patrons could browse new materials as soon as they walk into the building.

The Teen Reading Room spanned a few small areas/rooms with mobile bookcases for flexibility, book pods, collaborative workspaces, and cozy lounge areas.

In the Adult Reading Room, Arc and Propeller bookcases were included to create organic curves to entice patrons forward through the room with a continuous sense of exploration and discovery. Opening the Book refers to this as a discovery layout. Various patron seating options including individual reading spaces, study spaces, game play areas, collaborative workspaces, and cozy lounge areas were planned amongst the shelving. At the center of the adult room, a beautiful double-sided fireplace was included to create a warm, welcoming lounge area.

The Children/Junior Reading Room design mixed shelving, soft seating options and special features like the Book Tree to create a unique area within the library for children of all ages. The room is zoned for different age levels and includes an archway that leads to the children’s area and feature pieces like the Reading House, Reading Hideaway, and an amazing Big Book stage area!

“The design options provided by Opening the Book surpassed all needs and expectations! We truly didn’t think products like this were possible for our library and our community.”

“Everyone we worked with in the company was amazing in their professionalism, creativity, listened to what we wanted, and were patient, friendly, and knowledgeable.”—Barbara Sandstrom, Director of Morton Mandan Public Library

The Furniture

As you enter the Morton Mandan Public Library, there are quick pick book choices displayed on mobile Book Tables. 72” high Performance Wall Shelving lines the left wall to showcase new, popular books for Adults. The main circulation desk is in this area and a computer center for patrons to utilize.

As you continue through the left side of the library, you enter the Teen Reading Room and Teen Zone Lounge. There are 60” high Performance mobile shelving used mid-floor to display the Teen Fiction collection and to create a private area for teens to sit and read but can be moved for programming or other events if needed. There’s 72” high Performance wall shelving, Magazine units, and various Book Pods in the teen space to display Nonfiction, Magazines, and Graphic Novels for this age group.

The Adult Reading Room is a long, spacious room that contains 60” high Performance Mobile Bookcases to allow for good site lines of the room for both staff and patrons. The mobile bookcases create a flexible, multipurpose space so the library can host large events. The Propeller and Arc shaped bookcases create organic curves that entice people forward through the space.  72” high Performance shelving with bright, custom lightbox graphics showcase the Adult Nonfiction, DVDs, Graphic Novels, and Spanish collections. Magazine units are located along the wall near a beautiful double-sided fireplace to create a warm, welcoming lounge area.

To allow for optimal natural light within the Adult Reading Room, the window areas along the left side of the library are open and not blocked by any shelving units or furniture items. 72” high Essential wall shelving displays the library’s board game collection. There are areas to sit and study, cozy lounge areas, and collaborative workspaces.

On the opposite side of the library is the Children’s and Junior Reading Room. As patrons enter this area, they will immediately notice the shelving is at the appropriate height for children of various ages, a brighter color palette including green to create a cheerful, biophilic design, soft seating options to appeal to children, and brightly lit custom graphics at the top of the 72” high Performance perimeter shelving.

A BookSpace Archway leads to the Children’s area where the Easy collection for Pre-K to Early Elementary are displayed on 48” BookSpace shelving units. Feature pieces like the Hideout, Reading Hideaway, and Large Reading House are also near the Children’s room entrance to welcome youngsters into their area and provide comfy places to sit and read a book. BookSpace Curved and Straight Mobile Bookcases are used mid-floor to allow for flexibility within the space.

The Junior section has slightly taller shelving for older children, which creates a special zone for this age group. There are 60” Performance Mobile Bookcases placed mid-floor to display the Junior Fiction collection and the 72” high Performance wall shelving has illuminated, custom lightbox graphics to clearly show where to find the Junior Nonfiction collection.

A Preschool room is located at the back of the children’s reading room so that toddlers and their parents have a place to relax, play, browse books, and read. Two Picture book tunnels integrate play with reading. Toddlers can crawl through the tunnels and find picture books displayed on the units that they can reach and browse through.  Also, 3-Tier Picture Book units and Board Book units display books face-out so youngsters can see the bright, fun covers. A variety of seating options including a Hub Seat, Egg and Button seats, and Storage Seats are located throughout the room for both parents and preschoolers to enjoy. 48” high BookSpace Straight Mobile Bookcases also help to display additional items for the little ones to browse.

The Outcome

The new library shelving and furniture were installed in the renovated Morton Mandan Public Library building in June of 2022. A few items including the Big Book Stage in the Children’s room were installed at the end of July 2022. Once all shelving was in place, then the library staff had the BIG job of bringing the book collection back into the space and reshelving.

A grand reopening event was held at MMPL in September 2022. The staff and community members love their amazing new library!

“It was fantastic to work with Opening the Book North America! The Opening the Book staff were quite responsive to our needs, questions, open to make changes to the layout, were very transparent, and respected our budget.”—Barb Sandstrom, Director of Morton Mandan Public Library