Gerber/Hart Library

The Gerber/Hart Library, 6500 N. Clark Street holds the Midwest's largest collection of LGBT literature, will reopen Thursday December 12, 2013, after leadership and construction problems delayed its move to a new space for nearly two years, said library president Carrie Barnett.

Barnett was voted the president of the library's board of directors during the week of December 1-7, 2013.

The 32-year-old library was the center of controversy last year (2012) after a "For Rent" sign quietly popped up on the window of its former Granville Avenue location in Edgewater.

The library space occupies a portion of the second floor at 6500 N. Clark St. and is presently the building's only tenant.

The library is split into four main rooms: A reading room, where much of its literature is located, a community exhibit room, an archive room, and a special collections room.

When they first began the move, the space had "no walls" and no air conditioning system, Barnett said, which is crucial to preserve the library's more than 14,000 volumes, 800 periodicals, and other material about the LGBT community.

During the past 20 months, she said, volunteers had worked to get the library ready for its reopening.

The library's hours, are Thursdays 6-9 p.m. and Saturdays 12-6 p.m.