The Library's Building Project - the latest information

 

Work will begin on site preparation for the new library and the relocated Colburn School late in August. The wooded area north of the school will be cleared. This area of just over half an acre was acquired by the Board of Library Trustees with privately donated funds.  

 

Library plans are in the design development phase as more detail is added to the project. Two committees have been working with architects Finegold, Alexander and Associates and interior designers Stefura Associates during the design development.

 

Current library plans are available for viewing on the Library website at www.westwoodlibrary.org

 

The Library Building Committee and project manager firm continue to meet with the Permanent Building Committee to present progress reports and request approval for work invoices. Studies on wetlands questions and geotechnical borings have been satisfactorily completed.

 

The Board of Selectman has established the Colburn School Task Force to review and set conditions for moving the school and to weigh the different options for future use. The group has met during the summer to draft requirements for both the re-use and the move.

Project financing for the town bond is now under discussion.

 

The anticipated ground breaking will be early in 2011. The exact date will be announced later.

 

The library staff will start to formulate plans to provide services during the construction phase when there will be very limited parking at the Main Library.

 

 

News about progress milestones, changes in service schedules, bid awards, photos, etc. will be available on our web site, on the Library Director’s blog: http://westwoodlibrarybuildingproject.blogspot.com/ and through email blasts.

 

 

The Library Trustees have begun a fund raising campaign guided by consultants with non-profit experience. To date $800,000 has been raised in cash and pledges with some funds spent to purchase additional land for the project. The Trustees have set–up a non-profit corporation, the Westwood Public Library 21^st Century Fund, to receive donations. A town-wide fund raising appeal was sent out in mid-July with good early returns.

 

 

The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) agreed to allow the Colburn to be moved to facilitate the building of the new library. MHC wants the Colburn to be re-located within the High Street historic district and the current plans have the Colburn moved to the site of the current library once construction is complete.

 

What will happen to theIslington Branch Library?

 

The Branch Library will have an increased role during the construction period. The Branch will likely expand its hours to help offset the lack of parking at the Main Library work site. Future plans for the Branch will be decided by the Trustees and the Town following project completion.

 

The Main Library has not been expanded since 1969. Over the past 40 years, the size of the collection, circulation, and other use measures have more than doubled.   The Library’s two meeting rooms are used more than 650 times a year. The number of staff has also grown and there are 34 computers in use throughout the building.

There is a serious lack of space for new materials; staff work space is extremely tight; there is not enough space to meet the demand for group and individual meeting room or study space; many areas of the building do not meet handicapped requirements; access is very difficult for the Town’s elderly and young families.

 

The Board of Library Trustees hired a consulting firm with considerable library experience in 2002.  They determined that a new building was needed to provide adequate library services to the public.  Their space recommendations were reviewed by the MBLC and an architectural firm; both agreed with its conclusions.  To meet the demanding criteria for a construction grant, the facility was designed to accommodate the community's needs well into this century and includes the flexibility to respond to future changes in library services.

 

 Why can’t you expand the current Library to get the necessary space?

 

Adding another floor to the current library falls far short of the necessary square footage. Enlarging the perimeter of the current building is not feasible because of tight property lines and the traffic entrance from High Street. The Library Trustees bought 0.6 acres of land from the owners of 646 High Street to enlarge the current site and accommodate the new library. 

 

 How will the design of the building be determined?

 

The design process has been ongoing since the fall of 2009 and town residents and public officials have made many helpful suggestions. The project will create a new modern library that reflects High Street’s architecture and is responsible to the environment. The MBLC has offered $185,000 in grants if plans meet sustainable and energy efficient standards.