By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
With the pandemic in the rearview mirror, the Wood County District Public Library is turning its gaze back to its future building needs.
At Monday’s Board of Trustees meeting, Library Director Michael Penrod discussed the need to relaunch the library’s plans for renovation and expansion.
The pandemic, he said, gave him and administration team time to take “a more granular look” at the library’s needs as requested by the library’s trustees.
He even wondered if during the days of COVID-19 if he’d caught a case of “expansion fever.”
In 2019, the board was presented by their renovation and addition options – good, better, best.
The best came with a price tag of $7.4 million. While attractive and addressing the library’s needs, it could not be done because it called for an addition on the building’s north side. The city’s plans to renovate and expand the old post office into a new city building encroached on the space needed and key service lines running down Clay Street would need to be moved, which would be cost prohibitive.
Penrod didn’t propose a plan or make suggestions, only pointed to options and the basic needs.
“We can build anything if you want if you want to raise $7.4 million, but I don’t think that’s feasible,” he said
First, the library will stay in downtown. “We need to be in the center of activity,” Penrod said. That means the library is landlocked, bounded by Court Street to the south, the new city building to the north, its parking that has essential utility lines running beneath it, and South Main to the east.
Penrod said that instead of building out the library could consider building a second story. Another possibility would be building out to the east from the southern section of the building onto the lawn.
“We would leave the Christmas tree, alone,” he assured the board.
Among the questions the board pondered was how important it was to provide meeting rooms. These are rented out to community groups and members. Is the library’s role to offer a place to hold a birthday party or baby shower? Or is this another way to serve the community?
The administrative team is also pondering how large the collection needs to be. Way Library in Perrysburg, Penrod noted, has a collection that’s half the size of WCDPL’s, yet it has twice the circulation.
Penrod referred to an article from The Atlantic that focused on college students. The article maintains that patrons “just want normal library,” places to study and collaborate. They want basic in-person service and printed books not digital. They want more robust WiFi, not the ability to borrow sewing machines and other objects.
Building a second floor would allow the administrative offices, which now face North Main Street upstairs.
Board president Brian Paskvan said he’d prefer to have windows that showed children enjoying the library rather than “the back of Michael’s head.”
Board Member Becky Bhaer said she liked the idea but would be concerned that in these times having the kids exposed behind glass may pose a safety risk.
“We’ve gone through a whole different couple years that changed our views,” said Board Member Ken Frisch. “Construction costs have gone up. We didn’t have space near the Carter House. There have been some dynamic changes.”
Earlier this year, the library purchased a rental house immediately to the north of the Carter House. It was torn down this summer. Penrod has said he would like an appropriately designed storage facility there, one that would complement the architecture of the Carter House.
One of the options discussed was building a facility for local history, but that was dismissed because it would split up the staff.
Penrod said he could see the space developed as well as a venue for outdoor youth programming like the programs that were offered on Wooster Green during the pandemic.
Penrod said none of these ideas have costs attached to them. Something needs to be done, and the decision needs to be made. Penrod said he’s also in the process of refurbishing the interior of the library and does not want to spend money on carpeting that will be torn up in a couple years.
The administrative team will be wrapping up their work and get recommendations ready to present to the board in February. Penrod hopes that the construction could start in 2024-2025.
