Corrales Library Could Get Adult Reading Room
Supporting Group Plans Expansion
The Corrales Community Library, which was started more than 50 years ago in two small rooms of the local elementary school, has once again outgrown its space.
The Friends of Corrales Library are in the beginning stages of an expansion that would give the library a 700-square-foot adult reading room. The Friends presented a preliminary floor plan to the Village Council during its July 17 meeting and will soon begin a fund-raising campaign.
Carla Spencer, the library’s director, said the Friends of the Corrales Library approached her recently and said they would like to raise money for a major library project and wanted to know what she needed most.
“Adults don’t really have a quiet area to read in the library,” she said. “The area where we keep the newspapers and magazines is being taken over by our DVD section. It’s not a very quiet area, because it’s near the front desk.”
Spencer said library circulation, or lending by the library, has grown by 39 percent and visitors to the library by 24 percent in the past five years, making the library a little cramped sometimes.
“I want people to have a space to be able to leisurely come in and read and enjoy
the views,” she said.
The planned adult reading room would be built off the teen room on the northeast corner of the property, providing views of the nearby park and the mountains. The space could also be used for adult programs such as author talks and poetry readings. Spencer said the project will probably cost $200,000.
She said the library has been at its current location since 1979 and was initially a 2,700-square-foot building. The reference and children’s room were added later, with the most recent addition being the teen room in 2007. Currently, the library is about 6,800 square-feet.
Longtime village resident Evelyn Losack started collecting books for the library in 1951 and moved them into two rooms in Corrales Elementary. The library was christened the Corrales Community Library in 1957.