The Lynnfield Public Library is 2nd on the waiting list for a construction grant of over 8 million dollars from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) to help us build a brand new 21st century library to meet the needs of the Lynnfield community. Learn about the project below:
Our most recent design renderings from Rawn Architects
The origin of the first public library in Lynnfield has a similar story to others in New England towns: it began as a social organization with shareholders and went through various iterations until 1890 when the Commonwealth offered $100 to every town that would appropriate an equivalent amount to establishing a free public library. Lynnfield voted at town meeting to elect a Board of Trustees and to appropriate the funds to acquire the gift. The Lynnfield Public Library opened on July 22, 1892, with a collection of 554 books in a room in the then new Town Hall. At age eighteen, Miss Elizabeth W. Green became the first Head Librarian. In 1904 the library moved to its present location on Summer Street opposite the Common in what was the former Center School House dating from 1856. It is now the Children’s Room in the present library. In 1910 a branch library was established in the private home of Mrs. Cora Pike in South Lynnfield—with only a wooded road connecting the two ends of town. A branch library was built in 1923 on the corner of Salem and Summer Streets. The following year (1924) the circulation at the branch exceeded that of the main library.
The decade from 1950 to 1960 saw some of the biggest changes in Lynnfield as the country experienced a post World War II growth in population and building. The population increased from 3,925 in 1950 to 8,500 in 1960 and the library’s book collection expanded to 10,000. A Friends of the Lynnfield Library organization was begun that same year and has grown to a membership of 181 in 2017. An approximate 700 square feet addition in 1959 did little to alleviate the serious space problem in the main library.
The addition that brought the library to its present size with its expansive light-filled Reading Room, the mezzanine and the Palladian window that fronts the Common was finished in 1967 and dedicated on December 3, 1967.
In 1974, in response to the Bicentennial, emphasis was placed on collecting, organizing and analyzing local history and genealogy resources. The Local History/Genealogy Collection was begun by then Library Director Marcia Wiswall. It is a small but extensive collection of carefully chosen and highly specialized Essex County and Massachusetts genealogy sources as well as Lynnfield local history resources. This collection has a superb reputation within the larger library and historical and genealogy society worlds. The family researchers that use it are drawn from local Massachusetts cities and towns, surrounding New England states and the greater United States.
In 1981 the Peabody Institute Library of Peabody initiated an effort to create an electronic catalog of all its materials and the Lynnfield Library was the second library (after Peabody, the founder) to join this library automation project in August 1981. Thirty plus years later NOBLE (North of Boston Library Exchange), a library consortium with a current membership of twenty-eight public, college, and special libraries, has improved library services by sharing needed library and electronic resources — online periodical databases, downloadable audio books and eBooks and a digital library.
In the mid-1980s, a town-wide Capital Improvement Project made recommended improvements to all Town buildings including the library. A ramp was built on the front of the building and an elevator installed as well as widening the aisles between the bookshelves to make the library ADA compliant. Air conditioning was added and repairs were made to the roof and the HVAC system. The circulation desk was relocated and the unused basement space was converted to space for book shelves. Our first year in the newly renovated library was 1992.
The remainder of the 1990’s through the 2000’s ushered in numerous changes to services, programs, and collections. Currently, the library has over 90,000 items in the collection. 94,000 people visited the Lynnfield Public Library last year and nearly 100,000 items were borrowed from our physical and digital shelves. Our programming attendance continues to increase, with attendance of over 7,000 at programs at 415 events over the last 12 months, compared to an attendance of 3,500 at programs in 2000.
We have used our existing space to its maximum capacity. For example:
No, we cannot. The existing building must be repaired:
Reedy Meadows, because:
Members of the Library Building Committee met with Donnie Lyons from Reedy Meadow and discussed the importance of working together to ensure that a new Library Building would not disrupt the golf course or it’s operations.
The current Library building is owned by the Town. The Town will decide how it can be re-purposed for other space needs.
If you stand in front of the Palladian window in a driving rainstorm, you will get rained on from the leaks!
When we look to specific design features of whatever plan we move forward on, we are aware that there is a great community connection to this specific window. This will certainly be reviewed in our planning.
This question only focuses on the paper vs. eBooks or physical vs. digital debate.
While it is true that digital technology offers access to different content and new types of learning, printed books still play a critical role in supporting early literacy and education (for children and adults alike). However, libraries are much more than just book repositories.
The value of the library as a “place” is becoming more and more essential to communities across the country; A place to meet, a place to learn, a place to study, and a place to collaborate for lifelong learning; space for other community groups and organizations to meet.
A 21st Century Library blends the traditional with the future, provides community gathering spaces for people of all ages, from different backgrounds, with different fields of expertise, to share ideas, create content, socialize, and engage in co-learning experiences.
As a fully functioning library, we cannot expect other towns/cities to offer services to our community; They do not have the funding nor should they be expected to foot the bill for our residents. Each library must focus on serving their own users and using their space for what best suits their community.
The Library provides a welcoming common space that encourages exploration, creation, and collaboration for the betterment of the community it serves.
What Are Libraries Worth? (Chronicle, 2/4/2016)
What to Expect from Libraries in the 21st Century (TEDx Talk, 12/3/2016)
Books are Back. Only the Technodazzled thought they would go away. (The Guardian, 5/13/2106)
The 21st Century Library is more than just books, it is a community gathering place that:
A Makerspace / Creative Technology Lab is a room that provides a place where people gather to share resources and knowledge, work on projects, network, and build things. They are primarily places for experimentation, development, and idea prototyping.
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to a Makerspace/Creative Technology Lab. It depends on what the community wants to use it for. Some libraries offer soldering facilities, saws, and building tools, others offer dedicated video production / editing computers and software, and still yet others provide spaces for knitting and sewing groups to gather and share patterns and techniques.
Read more about, “How Libraries are Becoming Modern Makerspaces” in this article in The Atlantic by Deborah Fallows on March 11, 2016.
Yes! Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners has guidelines for the number of parking spaces and their proximity to the building that must be part of a new facility. A new library will have more parking spaces conveniently located near the building – no on-street parking or crossing the road to get into the building!
Yes, there will be study rooms and areas of the library that will be quiet zones to allow for reading or studying.
There are many factors and considerations when determining what is needed for a renovated or new facility, including:
You can read the entire Lynnfield Library Building Program, online, to see an analysis of all of these considerations.