Board of Library Trustees discusses updating current library
Credit: Elena Erdekian
Above is the Wayland Free Public Library (WFPL). The library trustees are beginning migration to a new home for Wayland’s books depending on approval from a town meeting. “We can offer a greater space for teens, more space for community events, a large extensive area for private study, a fully functional children’s room, and a building that is ADA [American with Disabilities Act] compliant,” WFPL Director Dana Mastroianni said.
May 24, 2016
The Board of Library Trustees is currently discussing options to update the Wayland Free Public Library at its current location.
The Board acquired a $150,000 grant from the town meeting in November to conduct a study to explore options for a new library.
The Board plans on finishing the study by the end of the year, and they will decide whether or not they will apply for a financial grant to build a new library. The financial grant application deadline is in January 2017. If the grant is approved, the state will cover 45 percent of the cost.
“If we miss this opportunity, if we want to actually file a grant application and we miss it, we don’t know when the next time is that we can apply for a state grant. They don’t come on a regular cycle,” Aida Gennis, chair of the Board of Library Trustees, said.
The application requires three sites to be submitted as the possible location for the new building. The locations are the Department of Public Works building by Wayland Middle School, 202 Old Connecticut Path and 5 Concord Rd. The most likely location is 5 Concord Rd.
The Board of Library Trustees wants the community’s input when designing the new building. A community visioning session was held on Tues. May 17, and another one will be held on Wed. June 8 from 7 to 8 pm in the Raytheon Room at the current library.
There will also be a separate forum for teens at school held on Fri. May 27 from 12-1 pm during lunch block. The room will be announced soon.
There will be more meetings to be announced in the future, and a survey will be sent out soon for people who cannot attend the meetings.
The Board views the new building as an opportunity for students and the town to create the library that they want.
“All this is is to get an idea of what people feel that they need in a library, and what kind of spaces they need: more study rooms, more small meeting rooms, more computer spaces, a teen room, coffee, a larger children’s room,” Gennis said.
Mark Hughes, member of the Board, believes that the areas of the library which most need improvement are the parking, the lack of meeting spaces and the children’s area.
“There’s so much that can be done, and we just want to hear about what people want as we work with the architects to say ‘Okay, here’s what we can do given the spaces we have’,” said Hughes.
“This is an incredibly, incredibly exciting time,” Gennis said.
Contact Aida Gennis to share your ideas and suggestions at [email protected]
