In DeKalb, there is a guardian at the gateway to the world of books.

His name is Harry Dumpty. The stone guardian sits with an open book in hand, on a low wall outside the Children’s Services entrance at the DeKalb Public Library, housed in the Haish Memorial Library Building.

The statue, named by its maker Brent George, sits guarding a world of imagination and discovery.

Money for the the egg-man was collected through a library fundraiser in April of 1998, when engraved bricks were sold to be placed in the library courtyard, said Children’s Services librarian Theresa Winterbauer.

The municipal library in downtown DeKalb, 309 Oak St., three blocks north of Lincoln Highway, provides information resources for DeKalb residents and NIU students looking to supplement the resources of Founders Memorial Library.

NIU students who live within city limits can check out books for free. However, students living outside the city limits must pay a fee.

Students living in places like Suburban Estates, outside the city limits in unincorporated DeKalb County, must pay a fee to check out books, because the library is supported through city taxes.

Much like other buildings in DeKalb, the art deco Haish Memorial Library Building was constructed in 1931 through the generosity of Jacob Haish, one of the inventors of barbed wire.

He had granted $150,000 from his will that finally had permitted the library to have its own housing and move out of the DeKalb Daily Chronicle building on Lincoln Highway. The library’s west wing was added to the original structure in 1979.

In 1980, the library was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, joining the Ellwood House, Gurler House, Glidden House and the Egyptian Theatre.

For the first time, the library will be publically displaying a gift from another benefactor that will make the library more convenient for all its visitors.

This Saturday, the library will unveil new amenities in two departments — four computers donated by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — at an open house from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the end of National Library Week.

The computers were purchased through a $14,995 grant from the Gates Foundation to increase the availability of digital information in public libraries throughout Illinois.

Adult Services Librarian Elaine Fulton said three computers will be placed in the Reference Room and one will be placed in the Youth