In June 2014, the Lynnfield Library was awarded the MBLC Planning & Design Grant for $50,000. This grant allows us to analyze our current facility and compare it to community needs and wants as gathered through informal discussions, surveys, and community forums. This two-year process of conversations and feedback informs an evolving design plan that will best meet our community needs and leads up to the presentation of a preliminary schematic design for a new library. The schematic design will be presented as part of a warrant at the Town Meeting on April 25, 2016.
The warrant will ask residents permission in two areas: 1. To approve the preliminary schematic design presented and 2. To give the Library permission to apply for the next MBLC State Construction Grant in January 2017. At this time no funds are required, the question of local funding will only come up if the Library wins the Construction Grant.
Frequently Asked Community Questions (and Answers)
Q: Why do we need a library? Everything is online.
A: 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)
How much do you really know about today’s libraries? Take this Libraries Transform Quiz to find out:
Q: Why do we need need a new building?
A: We have used our existing space to its maximum capacity. For example:
– Large print, books on CD, children’s fiction and picture books, and collections for teens cannot expand unless substantial reductions are made in selected areas
– No program room that will seat 100 comfortably for the library’s use or that of the community
– No room available for the community that will seat 20 comfortably
– No study rooms for students or adults to study independently or on small group projects
– Parking is insufficient and unsafe with poor access
– Lack of suitable space for children and teen interests and activities
– Lack of quiet space suitable for adults
– Lack of accessible electrical outlets for charging laptops, phones, and other personal devices throughout all areas of the library
– Poor lighting and acoustics
– The building is too crowded
Q: What will happen to the golf course at Reedy Meadow?
A: 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.
Q: Why not combine school and public libraries?
A: Public and School libraries have very different missions and service populations.
- Collections
- School Libraries:
- Serve the students and provide curriculum for their particular age and grade levels
- Collect non-fiction and very little fiction
- Are not equipped to serve the elderly, preschoolers, or adults in any way with the materials that they have to offer
- Public Libraries:
- Serve all ages and all interests and our doors are open to everyone in the community
- School Libraries:
- Location and Operation
- School Libraries:
- Are attached to an educational institution (inside or part of a larger campus)
- School doors are now locked at all times (not anyone can just enter the building)
- The location may be on the outskirts of the town or city
- Library Media Centers close at the end of classes and are not open on weekends or during school vacation days/weeks. It is also rare to have a school library that has the physical attributes to offer open doors to the public after school hours
- Public Libraries:
- The location is of necessity traditionally in the center of town. Might also have branches scattered throughout the community
- Is traditionally open days, evenings, and weekends
- School Libraries:
- Funding
- School Libraries:
- Are supported by different sources: state and local funding through annual school budget
- Public Libraries:
- Same kind of funding but has the option of a Friends group or foundation that allows for different kinds of fundraising
- School Libraries:
- Usage
- School Libraries:
- Classes have dedicated Media Center time each week where they have the opportunity to check out books,
- Public Libraries:
- Offer assistance with research but routinely do not offer instruction
- School Libraries:
- Collections
Q: What are our options?
A:
- A new building on a different site (Town-owned land)
- Renovate existing library and perhaps add 2nd floor
- Do nothing and remain in existing building
Q: If the Library were to build a new facility, where would it be built?
A: Reedy Meadows, because:
- Offers us the space we need
- Is a very attractive setting
- Has potential for ample parking
- The property is already owned by the town
- Not far from our current location and town centre
- No disruption to Golf Course operations
Q: Can we remain in the existing building and do nothing?
A: No, we cannot.
- The existing building must be repaired:
- Roof leaks in many places
- Septic system is in failure
- Electrical outlets and wiring is old and cannot meet our needs
- Unable to supply meeting room space
- Parking remains limited, insufficient, and unsafe
- No opportunity to grow and change with the community
- The existing building must be repaired:
Q: What is a 21st Century Library?
A: The 21st Century Library is more than just books, it is a community gathering place, with more than just books, that:
– provides dynamic spaces for stimulating conversation with friends, neighbors, and classmates
– promotes innovative learning programs for patrons of all ages and interests
– fosters creative environments to stimulate your imagination
– includes user-centered materials and services
– has librarians to help you learn how to use all these services
– and has so much more!
Q: The new library has a Makerspace / Creative Technology Lab. What is that?
A: 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.
Q: If you move, what will happen to the current Library building?
A: The current Library building is owned by the Town. The Town will decide how it can be re-purposed for other space needs.
Q: Will there be quiet areas and study rooms?
A: Yes, there will be study rooms and areas of the library that will be quiet zones to allow for reading or studying.
Q: Will parking be addressed?
A: Yes! MBLC 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!
Q: Will it be possible to save and incorporate the Palladium window?
A: 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.
Q: How do you determine the building size that you will need?
A: There are many factors and considerations when determining what is needed for a renovated or new facility, including:
- A needs assessment and answers to the following questions:
- What is your mission?
- What kind of services, programs, and collections are needed to fulfill your mission now and twenty years into the future?
- What does your community want?
- A review of state and national standards and formulas. For example, the American Library Association standards, based on population, demographics, size of staff, size of collections, etc. to estimate shelving, seating, and building operations
You can read the entire Lynnfield Library Building Program, online, to see an analysis of all of these considerations.
- A needs assessment and answers to the following questions:
Please continue to ask about our plans, our process, and our progress
Do you have a question, comment or suggestion you’d like to share with us? You can anonymously share your question to our Suggestion Box (www.suggestionox.com/r/LynnfieldLibraryBuilding) and we’ll post the answer on this page!