By Davi Stuhlsatz

 ANDOVER – When the Andover Public Library was in the design stages, director Carol Wohlford asked the staff to share their wildest dreams for the new space.

“My personal dream was to have an awesome piece for the children’s entrance,” she said. “The staff and I really wanted a ‘Wow!’ factor.”

Wohlford said she searched on the web and found the Cerritos, Calif. library.

“It is just amazing,” she said. “I gave photos to local artist Dale Poore and asked him if he could do something like that. He achieved our dreams.”

Poore created an entrance with gigantic blocks and books in time for the library’s opening in October 2008, but two pieces were missing until this summer – the  tortoise and the hare.

“We have been waiting for the tortoise and the hare to complete the youth entrance, but we are happy to wait. Dale has just done a terrific job,” said Wohlford. “The hare was installed in June and we expect that the tortoise will arrive soon.”

Wohlford said Poore has been very generous. 

“During the capital campaign for the new library, he committed to create the entrance as his donation to the campaign,” she said. “He has to do the work when he can fit in the time. He has a full-time job, so those two pieces weren’t done right away.”

Wohlford said she was grateful for Poore’s work.

“He donated a lot of time, labor and the cost of materials,” she said. “He used to work for an airplane manufacturer, and he uses the same technique as for planes. It looks real.”

Wohlford said patrons of the library have responded with the “Wow!’ and “Oh my gosh!” she was imagining during the design process, and have had pictures taken in front of it.

“It is something special,” she said.