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12/08/2023 03:32 PMUpgrades in services and infrastructure are coming to North Haven Memorial Library with the support of a $500,000 grant from the CT State Library’s Public Library Construction Grant Program.
Library Director Sue Griffiths said the library applied for the grant in September and received notice of its awarding from the state on Nov. 27. The remodeling of certain parts of the building and a new expansion in library services will be the first one since renovations in 2001. Since then, certain infrastructure has been, according to Griffiths, “showing signs of wear” and needs upgrades.
Griffiths said the library applied for the grant because of the continued growth of its services and the evolving needs of patrons. The structural changes and additional resources to parts of the building will support those concurrent factors.
“We want to be able to serve the community better within the space that we have,” said Griffiths.
Among the biggest examples of meeting patron needs through new upgrades is the library’s teen department, whose services have “grown exponentially” as members of its targeted demographic visit daily, said Griffiths.
“They’re actually starting to outgrow the space that they’re in now,” she said.
The teen department will get a technological boost from the grant with the addition of new computers. New furniture will be added, as well as a gaming area. A new work desk will be planted in the department’s expanded area where its librarian, Emily Tomlin, will be able to work. Shelving for books will also grow in size, which also means that shelving dedicated to new book arrivals will also get an upgrade.
In the adult section of the library, its circulation desk will be combined with the more general information desk, while its own computer arrangement will shift.
“We’re going to remove the existing information desk and put all the service points at one desk and the adult department. We’re going to move the public computers across from that desk so it’s a lot easier to help the patrons in need,” said Griffiths.
The small cafe area will grow with the help of new four-top tables that can accommodate more people to sit at so “families can come enjoy the cafe” while more snacks next to its Keurig machine can be provided to overall establish “a little think area just so that it feels more of a coffee shop,” said Griffiths.
The Rotary Job and Career Corner, a section dedicated to literary resources revolving around education, business, and career development, will migrate from the teen’s department to a different part of the same floor where a quieter space can be provided, said Griffiths.
On the construction side of the grant, the children’s department on the lower level of the building will receive new flooring and get a replacement for its countertops. The first floor of the building will also get new flooring. On the second floor, patrons will be able to engage in focused work with the addition of new study carrels and three new glass-walled study pods.
The library’s generator will be upgraded so that the building can support a higher number of people, including those who work in the Center Block area that contains municipal buildings such as the town hall, the fire and police departments, and the North Haven Historical Society. Those who work at those town buildings would be able to go to the library and find a safe and functioning area following a severe weather event and consequential power outage.
“People could charge their phones and have a warm or cool place and have access to the Internet,” Griffiths elaborated.
The next steps for the library include approvals from the State Bond Commission for the financing of the upgrades, additional paperwork, and going out to bid for vendors to perform the necessary work. Griffiths said it is September of next year that upgrades are hoped to begin.
“We’re excited for it,” said Griffiths. “I think [it’s] a lot of really good changes that will benefit everybody.”