NO TAXPAYER FUNDS HAVE BEEN USED TO DATE.
All
Initial Design Work Requested in the RFP Below to be Paid For With
Non-Taxpayer Trustee Funds.
Please help us with a donation to the Building Fund
by clicking the button below to donate via Paypal or Credit Card. We
appreciate your support. Donations may be made "In Honor Of", or, "In
Memory Of" someone special.
Please note that the proposed library building project has been included in the Capital Improvement Plan (2008-2020) recently adopted by the Town Planning Board. A copy of the document is available in the reference area of the library. It does a wonderful job of breaking out the tax impacts of proposed projects on a yearly basis.
The Building Team presented pages of questions and comments to the Library Board of Trustees, other task forces such as Finance or Feasibility or Design, and to others who had information to share. The result was 13 pages of material, which has here been condensed into this list of Frequently Asked Questions. We hope you will find this helpful.
If you haven't had a chance to voice you thoughts or concerns it is not too late; the library building team will be holding open forums periodically so we can continue to incorporate your ideas and respond to your questions along the path to a new library building.
Common Questions:
Q: Why does Barrington need a new library building?
A: Quite simply, it’s time. And given the explosive growth in the town, it didn’t surprise anyone involved in the library that the current facility is now full. Even before the 2000 renovation, the Library Trustees viewed that project as a 10-year solution, at best. Under the current physical constraints, the library is forced every month to discard more items from its collection, turn down more programs and curtail additional offerings. Our current library occupies 3,739 sq. ft.; recognized library standards would call for a 17,000 sq. ft. facility to meet current and future needs.
Q:
Whose idea was a new library?
A: The Library Trustees saw the
need more than seven years ago and the idea was brought before the Selectmen
and Planning Board in 2001. Despite much anecdotal evidence of the need for a
new facility, the Trustees hired a library consultant to evaluate the
situation. After a comprehensive look at the existing facility and other
available buildings and land in town, the consultant concluded that new
construction would be the most cost-effective approach. The consultant’s full
report can be viewed below.
Q:
How much would a
new library add to my property taxes?
A: There is no question that
construction of a new library will add to our property taxes; however it is
way too early in the process to put a dollar figure to it. Variables include
location, design and sources of funding. The Trustees are acutely sensitive to
adding to our tax burden through a bond and they are committed to exploring
alternatives such as grants and donations. The current approved Capital
Improvement Plan has a great breakdown of the possible tax-impacts of a new
library. It is important to remember, though, that not all debt is bad; how
many of us could afford to own a house if mortgages weren’t available?
Q: What is the relationship between the library and the proposed Village Center?
A: Absolutely none, other than the desire to locate the new library in the center of town. Of course, if the Village Center supporters are able to defray some of the infrastructure costs of their project, the library would also benefit.
Q: Is a new library more important than a new high school?
A: The two projects are not mutually exclusive and shouldn’t be viewed as an “either/or” decision for the town. Each undertaking has its own schedule and process of funding. Delaying construction in anticipation of building a high school will only increase the library’s ultimate cost.
Q: Why can’t the library raise its own funds for construction?
A: In fact, the Barrington Library Building Team is actively seeking financial support from a variety of sources to decrease the cost of public funding. However, as a community resource, sometimes referred to as “a town’s living room,” a library is a perfectly appropriate use of taxpayers’ money. And while no private donation will be turned away, who would want to donate to a library the community itself didn’t support through taxes?
Q: Won’t a new library cost more to operate and staff?
A: Yes, there will be some added costs. But the building team will take that into consideration and pursue design options to create a “high-performance” facility to lower operating costs. Staffing will increase based on growing library usage whether we build a new library or not.
Q: Dover and Rochester both have big libraries within 10 miles of Barrington. Why should we enlarge our library?
A: Barrington residents can always use our neighbors’ libraries—at a cost. Dover charges non-residents an annual fee of $100 and Rochester charges $50. The current per capita cost of the Barrington library to taxpayers is $18.97. Even if that figure increases with a new library, a local library card will still be a bargain compared to our neighbors.
Q: Won’t computers and the Internet make all libraries obsolete?
A: The answer is a resounding “no.” According to the American Library Association, “Far from hurting American libraries, the Internet has actually helped to spur more people to use their local libraries because it has increased our hunger for knowledge and information.” Furthermore, many people turn to library for high-speed access to the Internet under the guidance of trained and educated professionals. The ALA concludes: “Our libraries are investments in our communities and in our future with an incredibly high return on each dollar spent.” A full copy of the 2007 State of American Libraries is available at www.ala.org/2007State. Locally, the figures bear this out as well. In 1997, the Barrington Public Library circulated 19,828 items. Last year, the library circulated 67,665 items.
Q: Who benefits from a new library?
A: Every resident of Barrington, even those who don’t patronize it, will benefit from a new library. Barrington residents made 33,535 visits to the library last year despite its current cramped quarters. Furthermore, as a part of the town’s infrastructure, a new library will enhance Barrington, making it a better place to live and work. And, with additional meeting areas, a new library will serve many of the groups in town now struggling to find gathering spaces. An investment in a new library is an investment in Barrington’s future
Fund
Raising Efforts:
Change the future, one coin at a time! The library is currently holding
a change drive.
If you have a change jar at home, a pocketful of change or just a few pennies,
you can donate it to the library and help us save up for a new library building!
We are hoping to offset the cost of the building as much as possible through
fundraising. The remainder of funds needed will be asked for through a bond
from the town.
The Friends of the Barrington Public Library also support our new building in part through their fundraising efforts. If you are interested in helping out in this manner, please become a Friend of the Library! You can pick up a brochure at the Library front desk for more information, or click here to download a .pdf version.
2006 Executive Summary and Needs Assessment Report:
THE
SEPTEMBER, 2006
| Amy Inglis, Director Barrington Public Library 39 Province Lane Barrington, New Hampshire 03825 (603) 664-9715 |
Patience Kenney Jackson Library Building Consultant 7 Howard Road Maynard, Massachusetts 01754 (978)897-4956 |
The Barrington Public Library has been housed since 1972 on the upper level of a two-story Butler building. The lower level houses the Town’s Recreation Center. Remodeled and expanded in 2000, the library’s 3,739 square feet must house a collection of 30,435 books and media, seven public access computers and 22 reader seats, as well as all staff work areas. There is a small multipurpose room that serves as a public meeting and story hour space. This is also the only preschooler seating and play area, as well as serving a burgeoning young adult program.
The Town of Barrington has experienced dramatic growth since 1970, when the population was only 1,865; it had grown to 8,071 residents by 2006. Projections from the New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning predict a population for Barrington of 10,600 by 2025. As the population has increased, use of the Barrington Public Library has increased accordingly, with 61,185 items circulating in 2005. Children’s books represent about 67% of total book circulation. The number of registered borrowers has increased 79% in only four years. The library’s computers were accessed 6,000 times in-house in 2005 and 7,000 times remotely since 2000. The automatic door counter showed 29,786 visits in 2005. In addition to the expected collections and services, the library is also offering about 27 programs or events per month, and average of six per week.
Library space is quite limited, offering only about 0.46 square feet per capita for the 2006 population. To put this ratio in context, the 1970 population of 1,865 had a library that offered perhaps a bit more than .50 square foot per capita (approx. 950 sq. feet) - and this was in the days before computers, video and audio collections, or large print books. Yet in 2006, the library has 0.46 square foot per capita.
FACILITY DEFICIENCIES
The library is simply too small to effectively serve such a large number
of residents; parking is limited, the building itself is unprepossessing
and difficult to locate, there is no separate Children’s Room and
Young Adult collections and activities have limited space or must share
space with the multipurpose/preschool area. There are issues of accessibility,
the building’s structural integrity in relation to the weight of library
book stacks is questionable, and sound transfers between the library and
the adjacent gymnasium space make quiet study impossible. Meeting room space
is limited to a room used intensely for children’s and young adult
programming as well as to house collections. Staff work space is limited
to a very small office for the Director and an open space behind the circulation
desk for 4 other employees plus volunteers. The present library facility
of 3,739 gross square feet is doing the job of a 6,809 square foot facility
today, creating a cramped library with no room for future growth.
Trustee planning for a larger library began back in 2000. At the time, it was recognized that the expansion into space abandoned by the police department could only alleviate the overall challenge of planning a new library building for a few years. The library Trustees stated at that time (2000) that the expansion could be no more than a ten-year solution at best. A Library Building Consultant was retained in June, 2004 to evaluate and comment upon possible options, including school and town buildings available at that time. During the spring and summer of 2006, a full Library Building Program has been developed by the library consultant, with extensive input from the Library Director and Trustees. The Building Program, dated September, 2006, estimates the size of a library facility to serve the Town of Barrington for the next twenty years to be 17, 825 gross square feet, as outlined in the space needs chart on the following page.