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Library to turn page? Selectmen last Tuesday night to discuss the future of the Sherborn Library.
The crux of the meeting was a survey of residents performed by library officials, who said the survey was a necessary step in a process which could provide the town with state money to renovate or expand the library, though state dollars would likely fall far short of the necessary money, selectmen said.
"We're coming here [to the Board of Selectmen] to say we thought we had a future [project to discuss], but we don't know if it's ridiculous in this [fiscal] climate," Johnston said.
The survey was sent out to every Sherborn household, with 18 percent of those households - a total of 284 - responding. Of those, 97 percent said they use the library at least occasionally, with 43 percent using the building at least once a month.
Questions regarding library staff received the most favorable response in the survey, with 21 respondents providing positive comments in addition to answering the set questions.
"The librarians and other staff members are what keep us coming back!" wrote one respondent. "Thank you!"
"Elizabeth Johnston is a gem and we are fortunate to have her talents and enthusiasm as we forge ahead," wrote another respondent.
Some worries
But two issues were at the top of residents' list of concerns, including the lack of a separate space for the children's area and Sherborn's lack of participation in the Minuteman Library Network.
According to the survey, 64 percent of all respondents would prefer a wholly separate children's area, which is currently a floor within the main area. It's a situation, many wrote, that is cause for both noise disturbances and, for parents, frustration over needing to keep children quiet.
"I tour many libraries ... where towns are small and budgets tight. Many of these are ahead of Sherborn in organizing space around age groups/users," one respondent wrote.
Still, 17 percent of respondents believe the integrated adult and child spaces are beneficial, commenting that, for instance, it allows them to keep track of their children while they are doing something else.
One library user said there are too few intergenerational spaces in the world, so "please don't separate them."
Network news
Meanwhile, the potential of joining the Minuteman Library Network, through which a reader can order delivery of materials from other libraries in the network via the Internet, proved to be a hot-button issue for Sherbornites, 70 percent of whom responded that they are either interested or very interested in the Sherborn Library joining the Minuteman.
The library is capable of acquiring materials for its users from any library in the state and, as Johnston pointed out, it does so without the Minuteman network and the approximately $25,000 yearly membership fee it requires.
Johnston also argued that staying away from Minuteman means keeping Sherborn's books on Sherborn's shelves.
"One of the best things about having a locally run system is that for 90 percent of the people that come in, our books are on the shelf," Johnston said.
Still, she acknowledged, without the Minuteman Network, library users can't order materials from other libraries themselves, but must ask a staff person to do so.
"This is going to be one of those trade-off situations ... If the dollars follow, then we'll do what people want us to do," said Johnston, who had earlier told Selectmen, "We already don't have enough money for electricity. We are finding ourselves short, [and] it's a big worry for us just to get some of our basic services covered."
Space tight
In addition to information garnered from the survey, trustees George Motley and Rafe Lowell said the library's struggle for shelf space also drives the desire for building improvements.
"For every new book that comes in, we need to throw one away ... which is always an interesting conversation, Lowell said.
"So there's talk of needing more stacks."
In spite of fiscal constraints that could make renovation or an addition difficult, one trustee asked selectmen if moving ahead to a design phase would represent a "false start?" The selectmen said no.
"I would recommend you do the [preliminary design] plans," Selectman Paul DeRensis said.
DeRensis said such plans would bring a cost estimate, which could then initiate a funding drive to make the project possible.
"That's not a false start," DeRensis said. "[The design plan] will be valuable now, and it will be valuable in five years." |