SHERBORN
Lisa Easley loves taking her 5-year-old son to the Sherborn Library, but other adults aren't always thrilled to see children coming through the door.
That's because the library does not have a separate children's room, where youngsters can have fun without disrupting adults looking for some quiet reading time, parents and library officials said.
To help alleviate that tension, the library is embarking on a renovation project that would provide that space, said library director Elizabeth Johnston.
''Right now, it's integrated with the main floor, and from time to time, the adult users and children users clash," Johnston said. ''Adults will go off in a huff, and parents feel they have to hurry up and leave."
Easley, a stay-at-home mother, often visits libraries in Sherborn, Dover, Natick, Medfield, Wayland, and Wellesley with her son, Will, and all have separate spaces for children except Sherborn, she said.
As a mother and president of the Friends of the Sherborn Library, Easley said she fully supports Johnston's push for more space.
''Our library is at a point now when a new book comes in, an old one has to be discarded," she said.
The library was built 35 years ago. Since then, not only has the town grown, but more space is required to accommodate computers and new collections such as videocassettes and DVDs, Johnston said.
Plans are still preliminary and construction is at least a year or two away, but Johnston said the project is gaining steam.
Library officials met with the Board of Selectmen earlier this month to present the results of a townwide needs assessment survey that shows residents are most interested in improving children's services.
Johnston said she is starting to publicize the plans more now that officials have a better sense of what residents are looking for.
Financing for the project is one of the big unresolved issues, officials said. Johnston said she is working on paperwork for the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners that would hopefully bring in some state funding for design and construction.
But library officials will also be looking for town money and private donations to pay for the project.
Johnston doesn't have an official cost estimate, though she said it would likely be at least $1 million.
Still, it won't be on the same scale as other area renovation projects that have cost several million dollars, she said.
Ashland's recent library renovation cost $5.2 million, while Watertown spent $9.8 million and Upton close to $10 million, according to the Board of Library Commissioners.
Selectmen chairman James Murphy said it's important for the library to consider all funding options so residents aren't faced with a higher tax burden.
The town should look at ''alternatives to pure tax raising," Murphy said. ''We have to look at how we can improve different facilities and be creative in the ways we finance them."
Sherborn already has among the highest tax rates in the state. But Murphy said he's eager to get more information from library officials as the project moves forward.
The Friends of the Sherborn Library group has already started putting plans in motion to raise funds for the expansion, Easley said.
Each year, the group raises between $30,000 and $40,000 for the library to offer discounted museum passes and a summer concert series. Last year, the group spent $25,000 to upgrade technology at the library.
In addition to its annual fund-raisers such as holiday parties and an arts and crafts fair, Easley said, the group will start holding fund-raisers specifically for the renovation project.
One idea in the works is a house tour that would take place next fall featuring some of Sherborn's elegant estates, Easley said.
''We have a lot of lovely older homes with historic value," Easley said.
''I'm hoping it would be an exciting event for people to see and that people would be eager to showcase their homes."
While the Friends work on fund-raising, Johnston said she'll plug away at the construction details.
She said she hopes to have an architect in place by the end of the year, paid for with funds from an existing state grant.