Westborough Library Eyes $40,000 State Space Planning Grant

Voters next Monday night could further shape the Westborough Public Library.

Library officials seek special town meeting approval to apply for and spend a $40,000 Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners planning and design grant toward meeting the community's future needs at 55 West Main St., Library Director Maureen Ambrosino said.

The grant would fund two-thirds of the planning and design cost, Ambrosino said. Library trust funds would support the rest. State law and the state library board require town meeting approval for communities to apply for and spend such grants, she said.

The special town meeting is at 7 p.m. Monday in the Westborough High School auditorium.

Ambrosino said the grant would continue Westborough library officials' recent efforts exploring reallocating space at the library to better serve patrons.

Library officials began looking at the space two years ago, "because at the time, believe it or not, we were running out of space," and hired a consultant to talk with patrons, staff and library trustees, and to review data, "to see if the library was large enough to meet the needs of the community going forward in time" 20 years, Ambrosino said.

The consultant "determined that our building is under-sized for future population," she said.

Library officials discussed the report, and "decided that we didn't want a new building. This is an old building. It's got old building problems," Ambrosino said.

"None of us could imagine, or would want to imagine, a library anywhere but here.
One of the cool things I think, that's really special about this building, is if you go outside, look up, you see '1906' carved in the building. That's when it was constructed. It opened as a library in 1908. And I think it's really special that, for over 100 years, if you went to the library, you came here," she said.

"This building is so beautiful. And we wouldn't want the library to be anywhere else but here."

The consultant's final report included floor plans "with goals in them for us to meet" regarding reallocating space, Ambrosino said.

"I think she came up with a fantastic plan," she said.

The plan has the top floor becoming public space, with the  library director's office remaining there as well, Ambrosino said.

On the main floor, the quiet reading room would remain. The teen room would move to the basement. The current teen room would become a "semi-private" meeting area. And more tables would be in the back "so people can sit at their laptops and plug in if they need to," Ambrosino said.

And "sooner rather than later," library officials will be  "shortening the shelves away from the walls," which would improve handicapped access "so you can go around all of the shelves," she said.

The consultant's suggestions reflect much of what came out in a  community survey last spring, Ambrosino said.

There's a lot of interest in buying coffee at the library, for example.

A few years ago, the library changed its policy and now allow beverages in closed containers, Ambrosino said.

"They want to be able to come here and buy their coffee. So over the next couple of years, we'll be investigating how we can make that happen," she said.