This October, before the public got a look at the new library on Walworth Avenue, its meeting room was full of boxes. The Whitewater Times reported that staff were using the room as the unloading station for books coming back from storage. It's fitting that the room was put to work early. The whole expansion was planned around it.
The library at 404 E. Walworth Ave. reopens with an open house on Saturday, November 14. It comes back as the Delavan Public Library, a new name for the institution most of Delavan has known as Aram Public Library. The biggest change for daily life is that Delavan now has public rooms that groups, students, remote workers and families can actually get into.
The Room Shortage Behind the Project
According to the Janesville Gazette, a 2019 library study found the old building could meet only 23% of requests to use its community meeting room. Demand had kept climbing in the meantime. Since 1999, children's and adult programming had grown 77%, the book collection 60% and DVDs and CDs 86%. The building had been open since 1908, and its last major expansion was in 1991.
The Gazette's list of problems the project set out to fix reads mostly like a list of space problems:
- Meeting space too crowded for community events and programs
- Not enough indoor programming space
- Limited parking and accessibility below ADA standards
- Public computers in loud spots, some of them hard to reach
- Aisles too narrow for strollers or wheelchairs
- Little quiet space for studying
The project took years to take shape. The Gazette reports that the library hired McDonald Schaefer of Madison for a feasibility study in 2018. In 2021 the Common Council approved planning and the library foundation started its capital campaign, and FEH Design of Milwaukee led design starting in 2022.
The Rooms Delavan Can Now Use
The library's expansion page lists 21,074 square feet of new space, for a total of 32,724 square feet once the addition is joined to the original building. Everything new is on a single floor. Here's what that space holds.
| Space | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Meeting room | Room for 140 people and three projection screens. It can be closed off from the children's storytime room so two programs run at once, and the library plans to make both rooms reservable. |
| Study rooms | Four of them, plus dedicated computer and remote-work space |
| "The Garage" | A makerspace with power strips mounted in the ceiling |
| Teen area | Larger than before |
| Discover Area | A youth and family space that includes an interactive Lite-Brite wall and more room for picture books and early readers |
| Programming patio | Outdoor space for library programs |
The meeting room details link straight back to that 23% figure. Two programs at once in rooms the public can reserve is how the library gets past one room and one booking at a time. The library's April 2026 meeting room update says the wall between the two rooms is soundproofed, that local organizations and businesses can use the space for trainings and meetings, and that both rooms will be bookable through the library's event scheduling platform once the building is finished. The meeting room details page lists the seating and screens.
The Gazette also reported plans for a two-sided fireplace, an outdoor story pathway, a snack vending area and walkers or grocery carts for patrons who need help getting around. The library's project plans also call for new HVAC and solar panels on the roof.
Two Entrances and a New Parking Lot
Getting in will feel different. The library now has public entrances on both 4th Street and 5th Street, and in September 2026 it confirmed that both have automatic accessible doors. The ribbon cutting is at the 5th Street entrance next to the parking lot, and that's the door most drivers will use.
That lot came out of a land purchase. The city bought 121 S. 4th Street, and the house there was torn down in fall 2024 to make room for the project. A $115,000 Otto Bremer Trust award went toward buying property south of the library. The Gazette describes the new lot as 41 spaces with an EV charging station planned. An October 2026 library update says the lot is now paved and has a center island set aside for a book drop.
The 1908 Building Gets a Second Tenant
The original brick library is staying. It's being restored and upgraded alongside the new single-floor addition. Its lower level will remain library space, and the upper level will house the Delavan Historical Society.
The Aram name is staying put too. The library says it will remain on the original building's frontage facing Walworth Avenue, and a donor area will recognize the Arams and earlier donors, even as the institution takes the Delavan Public Library name.
That gives the downtown block two public uses where it used to have one. The building that ran out of room is now the home of the town's local history.
How the Building Came Together
The groundbreaking was July 19, 2025, with FEH Design and Corporate Contractors Inc. on the project team. The Gazette reported a beam signing and topping ceremony on December 19, when community members signed a beam that helps hold up the roof. During construction, the library ran from a temporary site at 830 E. Geneva St.
The library's 2024 estimate put the project at $11.3 million, covering design, construction, furnishings, financing costs and contingency. It also cautioned that inflation and tariffs could change the total. Several outside gifts and grants are part of that total:
- $800,000 from Governor Tony Evers' Non-State Grant Program, announced in May 2026
- $450,000 pledged over three years by the Kunes Family Foundation in 2022, a gift Lake Geneva Regional News also reported
- $115,000 from the Otto Bremer Trust toward the land purchase
- $3,000 from the Green Bay Packers Foundation, announced December 17, after construction began
November 14, Hour by Hour
The library has been closed since October 5 for the move and stays closed through Friday, November 13. The open house press release gives this schedule for Saturday:
- 10 a.m. Ribbon cutting at the 5th Street entrance by the parking lot
- 10:30 a.m. Remarks from Mayor Ryan Schroeder and other speakers inside the new meeting room
- 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Open house with building tours, musical performances, crafts, snacks, giveaways while supplies last, and prize drawings, with winners announced Monday, November 16
- 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Tours in ASL and Spanish
You can also pick up one of the new limited-edition library cards on Saturday. Residents voted on the designs, and the four winners were made by Savanna J., Lincoln M., Hazel SW. and Esther J. The library's October newsletter lists other parking options for the busy day and says full service starts Monday, November 16. Weekly hours for the new building will be posted at delavanlibrary.org. Check there before your first weekday visit.
Book groups are still meeting off-site this month. The Thursday Night Book Club meets Thursday, November 5, at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Bank Community Room to discuss James by Percival Everett. The Novel Ideas book group meets Saturday, November 21, at 2:15 p.m. at Boxed & Burlap downtown.
Shannon follows changes like this one on Walworth Avenue because they shape what living in Delavan feels like from one week to the next. If you'd like to talk through what's changing near your home or how it might affect a future move, Shannon Blay and the Keefe + Blay team are always happy to hear from you, and we'll see you at the ribbon cutting.
