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Library remodeling to keep pace with increased foot traffic
(by David Jimenez - July 23, 2008)
The Denville Public Library will be getting a facelift.
What started out five years ago as a plan to save money for the purchase of new carpeting has evolved into a major remodeling project that, if all goes accordingly, will become a temporary solution to an already overcrowded location struggling to accommodate a growing town.
“The remodeling project is a stop-gap measure that will let us better utilize the existing building space to serve our library patrons, which have increased substantially over the years,” said Board Trustee President Lorraine Hrobuchak.
According to Hrobuchak, the remodeling plans will allow the library to continue to operate at its current size for another 10 years, at which time the library will need to expand because it would be unable to fully serve Denville’s growing population, which to date is approximately 16,000 residents.
The town council last week introduced a $1.6 million bond ordinance to finance the renovation. The public will be allowed to comment on the proposed ordinance at the council’s Aug. 12 meeting.
The project will be self-funded, said Betsy Kanouse, director of Denville’s Public Library. Expenses will be offset through a $35,000 donation from Denville’s Friends of the Library and from reserve funds of $600,000 that the library’s Board of Trustees has accumulated over several years.
We intend to pay the rest from the library’s operational budget, savings and fund raisers, as necessary,” she said.
“We’re not looking at grants or state funding to do this project,” Al Atkinson, board trustee, assured town council members.
“If all goes on schedule, construction will begin later this year and last nine months,” Kanouse said.
The architectural firm of Dennis Kowal and Associates, based in Somerville, has been hired by the library’s board of trustees to manage the remolding project. The changes will focus exclusively on the library’s interior and will “not change the existing footprint of the current building because expansion is not viable right now,” Kanouse said.
Major components of the new design include: a new children’s area, a designated reference area, quiet reading space and additional wiring to support more computer terminals for patrons and staff - “all items that surfaced during 11 focus groups conducted with business owners, moms, seniors, friends of the library and teens,” Kanouse said.
During construction, the library will remain open.
“The library staff is working on a plan to provide limited services that will cause minimal disruption,” noted Kanouse.
The Denville Public Library, located at 121 Diamond Spring Road, is open from Monday - Thursday, 9:30 a.m. - 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The library’s Board of Trustees meets on the second Thursday of the month.
Staff photo by David Jimenez
Betsy Kanouse, left, director of Denville’s Public Library, points with interest toward the library’s new floor plan that will begin construction later this year. Standing with her are Al Atkinson, Lorraine Hrobuchak and Rose Ann Cotreau, library trustee members.
photo: lib renov
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