Inside: Woodstock Library still trying to balance space needs with cost

The Woodstock Library board is trying to write another chapter in its effort to provide users with adequate facilities at a price that won’t scare supporters.

The board said in a press release this week that it is sending back three proposals for a new building to see if the architects can deliver estimates in the range of $3.2 million to $5.8 million.

“This is not a final decision to build new,” board President Dorothea Marcus said. “But we acknowledge that this would be more costefficient for the long term [than expanding the current library], and there is lots of work ahead of us in terms of researching funding options through grants and special gifts, as well as bonding with the town.”

The board earlier this year solicited input about five options that included renovating the existing 8,185-square-foot, two-story building, constructing an entirely new building, or a combination of the two.

Library Director Jessica Kerr said Wednesday that the board is looking for a solution to the library’s space problems that will provide enough room for services while obliging patrons who want to keep the original structure.

“We’re going to be getting three different options for a new building, but it’s not to say it’s a final decision,” Kerr said.

“We could still do a renovation

and addition,” she said. “We had a person ... several years ago do presentation about doing an addition in the back with very minimal renovation. So that is also kind of on the table.”

Debate over expanding the library has lasted more than 10 years, since a proposed $1.1 million addition was rejected by voters by a 5-to-1 margin. Town residents at the time complained the library board had not involved the community in developing the plan.

More recently, board members proposed an annex on a property across Library Lane, but that suggestion was met with sharp criticism.

“We’ve gotten very passionate responses on both doing the new building and a renovation/addition on this

one,” Kerr said. “It’s not clear what the majority of the community wants, so we’re going to do more to discover that also.”

Kerr said simply updating the current 110-year-old building would reduce the amount of space available.

“Bringing it up to code, we would actually have less space for books and people,” she said. “While it doesn’t cost very much, it doesn’t accomplish very much.”