The Voorheesville Public Library Board of Trustees plans to build a new library when the economic climate is ready, according to a mid-April letter from Richard Ramsey, the board’s president.
The letter, available on the library’s Web site at www.voorheesvillelibrary.org, states that the library has decided to proceed cautiously with its expansion project due to the uncertain economy.
In December 2006, the library purchased 5.5 acres behind the building’s current location and stated that the best investment of taxpayer money would be a `new, state-of-the-art` structure.
The library’s director, Gail Alter Sacco, said the board is discussing what to do with the old building once a new one is constructed.
`We are going to talk to the community about that,` Sacco said.
Enhanced technology and multi-media services are among some of the potential improvements at a new facility. A sizable community space, teen space and long-distance learning center are also included in the plans.
A large community space of more than 1,000 square feet could handle `high-quality` traveling exhibits from the American Library Association, according to Ramsey’s letter.
The board plans to `make every effort to see that the [current] building continues to be useful to the community,` the letter states.
A library-sponsored communitywide survey last year found that 67 percent of respondents would definitely support an increase in public funding, coupled with grants and private donations, and 21 percent would possibly do so. Despite the support last year, the letter states it `suspects fewer people would support a bond.`
Ramsey said all of the funding for the planning came from a $50,000 allocation, approved by the public.
`We’re not asking anyone for any extra money,` Sacco said.
Ramsey also added the board is working toward making the process as `transparent as possible,` while members work out a fundraising plan and structure.
Although the board is not asking for public money at this time, it is possible in the future.
`The board is devoting considerable effort at this time to identifying alternative funding sources that will help reduce the use of public dollars,` Ramsey wrote in the letter. `We will also use this time to put in place the legal and financial structures that allow us to hit the ground running when it is appropriate to actively begin raising the funds for the project.`
The survey indicated 81 percent of the town `would support` or `possibly would support` a new library.
`Most of you are well aware that the current building offers no physical separation between child and adult spaces, that we lack a place for young adults and teen, or for small group study or comfortable reading and that we have no room to expand our collection,` Ramsey wrote in the letter.
The current building is not energy efficient, storage space is limited and adding new items means taking old ones down.
Several factors contributed to the decision to construct a new library, rather than expand the old one, according to the library engineering consultant Sano-Rubin and architect J. Stewart Roberts.
The building is constructed out of nonreinforced concrete and does not provide enough stability to knock any walls down. Heating and ventilation problems would likely ensue from linking an addition. The south has no room to expand, and the septic system is located eastward, requiring $50,000 to relocate it.
The building does not have enough lateral stability to expand upward, and reinforcing it would be more expensive than building a new structure.
Sano-Rubin also estimated the building will need $780,000 worth of work within the next few years.
Rich Bader, a resident of Voorheesville, indicated the importance of a library in the village.
`Because our town does not have a coffee shop, a music store, video rental store or movie theater, community space at the library can serve all those popular needs. Draw people in and they will discover what the library is all about,` said Bader.
The library is hosting a public meeting on Monday, May 18, at 7 p.m. to discuss its proposed $988,600 budget to be voted on the following day.
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