Photo Courtesy of Ken Aschliman

The goal of the renovation of the Grand Reading Room was to restore the look and feel of the original library reference room. Where possible, the original white oak was restored. Where not, new white oak was selected. The first and widest cuts from the quarters of the largest logs were used to later construct the 15-foot-long solid white oak tables in the room. After being dried in a kiln, the lumber was milled, edge-glued together by length, and then cut into three sections prior to assembly. The sections, with their bases attached, were later put back together as one unit.