FOR THE
KENT MEMORIAL LIBRARY
PRESENTED BY
THE KENT MEMORIAL LIBRARY COMMISSION
FEBRUARY 2006
APPENDICES
The
current Library building was built in 1972.
Beginning in 1993, the Kent Memorial Library Commission (“Commission”)
has recognized the inadequacies of the existing Library building and
investigated remedies, including alteration, expansion or a new building. Through the late 1990s and early 2000s, the
investigation included (1) paid consultations with architects and library
building experts; (2) ongoing surveys and focus groups; and (3) alliance with
Town leadership on the need for a solution to the cramped and out-dated
building. These efforts culminated in
(1) in the report of the Town’s Library Space Needs Committee, which
recommended a new building at the current location, as well as (2) the
successful application for a $500,000 grant from the state of Connecticut to
support the proposed new building.
The
purpose of this presentation is to summarize, for the newly elected Selectmen,
the background, history and basis for the proposed new Library building.
The current Library building has an area of
14,625 square feet, only 9,500 of which can be used for library functions. It
was built in 1972 to meet the 20-year projected needs of Suffield. The collection then was 26,000 volumes,
almost all books. There were no music
CDs, movies, or computer terminals. It
was designed with a shelf space for a maximum of 51,000 volumes.
In 1973, the library’s collection of 26,000
items represented fewer than 3 items per person. The 1973 annual circulation was 45,000, about
5 items per citizen. Twenty years later,
in 2003, the Library’s collection of 95,000 items represented 8 items per
person. The 2003 annual circulation of
158,000 was about 12 items per citizen.
In 2003, there were three and a half times as many visits to the library
as in 1973. There are many more services
and programs available for people now than there were three decades ago.
In 1993, the Commission concluded that the existing
building was too small and inaccessible to many. The Commission investigated (1) possible expansion to
the south side or the closing in of the center atrium, and (2) improved
accessibility to the building (and bathrooms) for elderly and handicapped
patrons.
In 1996, the Commission, asked architects Charles
King and Bruce Tuthill to evaluate the building’s shortcomings and propose
possible solutions. In May of 1996, they
gave the Library Board a report that listed 12 major problems with the library
building. The solution that they offered
was to build a two-story addition on the land the town owns, toward the south.
Previously, Selectman Roland Dowd had suggested this option with one floor
designed as a community center.
In 1998, the Commission funded a 1998 Library Patron
Telephone Survey.
Most (80%) of the respondents had visited the
library within the previous year. The
average number of visits per year was about every two weeks. Respondents identified the three biggest
shortcomings of the Library building:
access from the parking lot, nighttime access, and space available for
collections.
In December 2000, the Commission met with the
First Selectman, Town Planner, and Town Engineer to discuss library
improvements. The report from that
meeting stated: The town officials felt very strongly that the Library Board
should “initiate a sequence of events that would culminate in a different
library several years from now.”
In November 2002, the Commission gathered and
analyzed data comparing the Library to the public libraries of nearby towns of
similar size. Twelve nearby towns were
selected for the study: Avon, Berlin, Brookfield, Ellington, Farmington,
Granby, Rocky Hill, Simsbury, Somers, Suffield, Tolland, and Windsor
Locks. These small towns had populations
(in 2000) that varied from 10,300 to 23,600.
Summaries of the results are shown below, along with Suffield’s rank
among the 12 towns:
Library Usage: Suffield 11-Town Avg. State
Suffield ranks 1st
in size of collection per capita 7.4 5.0 3.7
Suffield ranks 2nd
in patron visits per capita 10.6
7.0 5.9
Library Building: Suffield 11-Town Avg.
Suffield was last in age
of library (as of 2001) 29 years 15 years
Also in 2002, the Commission engaged Lushington
Associates to perform a library needs assessment study, at a cost of
$30,000. The consultant was asked to
produce a report showing the needs of the library; listing Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) issues; and make recommendations based on remaining at
the current site. The Lushington Report
was issued in May of 2003, and is attached in the Appendix to this
Presentation.
The Report acknowledged the attractive exterior,
the beautiful courtyard, the welcoming staff, and the award-winning
design. It then lists over a dozen major
shortcomings, most related to space or safety issues. The report states, “Despite the best efforts
of the staff, this building now appears dated and overcrowded. It was not planned to meet the demands now
placed on it.” Based on 20-year
projected trends, the final recommendation was that the Library needed about
twice the total area that is available in the current building,
The Report also looked at the facility for
compliance to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), concluding that it was
seriously inadequate in at least eight separate areas. Lushington considered and rejected an
expansion of the existing building on the basis of the ADA: it would be very costly, and after the fixes,
there would still be spaces that would not be accessible due to the unique architecture
of the existing building (such as the current children’s area half-way up the
“up” ramp).
In
October, 2003, Suffield’s Town selectmen appointed the Town Space Needs Assessment Committee. The Committee was given the objectives
of deciding between the proposed
alternatives: (1) make ADA improvements to existing library building; (2)
expand on the current site with ADA improvements; (3) tear down the existing
building and rebuild on that site; or (4) build at a new location.
The Committee included the library director, two
Commission members, Suffield’s town planner, a business manager, an engineer,
and individuals with expertise in project management, fundraising, and Town
board operations. The firm of Jacunski
and Humes was hired and evaluated the options from an architectural
perspective.
In the Spring of 2005, the Space Needs Committee, the
Selectmen, the Library Board, and the Suffield citizens who filled out survey
forms each arrived at the same recommendation -- to raze the existing building
and replace it with a new library building of 28,000 to 30,000 square
feet. An executive summary of the
Committee's reasoning is attached to the Presentation in the Appendix. Basically, the cost of expansion and
addressing the ADA issues is comparable to the cost of a new building. Expansion and ADA modification would impose
various limitations and restrictions that a new building would not. For example, a significant portion of
current usable space would be lost to make the existing structure
accessible.
In Summer 2005, the Commission prepared an application
to the State of Connecticut for a $500,000 grant, which required further
architectural planning, title review, geological investigation (borings and
testing) and the submission of a comprehensive Long Term Plan for the
Library. The Commission funded the
necessary professional work and met through the Summer to complete the
application, which was submitted in the Fall.
In January 2006, the application was approved. The grant money must be used by July 2008 or
it will be forfeited.
The current Kent Memorial
Library was built more than thirty years ago for a smaller town and a much
smaller collection. Built to house 26,600 items, but designed to
accommodate a 20-year projection of 51,000, the building now has a collection
of 95,000. Even with the addition of shelving, the library is now out of
space for both collections and patrons.
Though architecturally interesting, the existing library building is
expensive to operate. Due to its location on a steep hill, and cramped
design, it is not accessible to many Suffield residents. Substantial and
expensive renovations would be necessary to make it compliant with applicable
federal law.
If a new building is not authorized soon, the lack of
space and ADA problems will only get worse and require more expensive solutions
later. Alternatives to a new building,
such as expansion or repairs, would still require substantial expenditure (minimum -- several million dollars) and
result in an ineffective patchwork with
reduced space. The Town’s money would be
wasted.
Suffield needs a new library
building. As the collection has
expanded, and new services such as computers have been offered, Town patrons
have responded with more borrowing and more visits. A new building will meet existing demand.
The current site has
repeatedly been the strong preference for the new building. The Bridge Street site has been examined as
an option. Every group that has
investigated the issue, and every study done (such as the Commission and the
Space Needs Committee) has rejected that location.
3. History of the Kent Memorial Library
In 1812 a subscription
library was formed at a store in West Suffield.
For an investment of $2.00, a subscriber could withdraw $1.50 worth of
books at a time, to be returned within two months. The library had 43 subscribers and 76
books. Suffield’s first free public library
was formed in 1894, with town funding, a Board of Trustees, bylaws, and $200
worth of books. The books were housed on
Main Street, near the present library building.
In 1897, Sidney Albert
Kent, a Suffield native, graduate of Connecticut Literary Institute (C.L.I.),
and successful Chicago businessman donated $35,000 to build a library as a
memorial to his parents, Albert and Lucinda Kent. The land where the original building stood
belonged to the C. L. I. (now Suffield Academy), which sold it to the town in
1898. It was the same plot of land
purchased by the first Kent ancestor in Suffield. On November 1, 1899 the Kent Memorial Library
was dedicated. Mr. Kent furnished the
library with 6872 carefully selected books, and created a $25,000 endowment. C. L. I. gave its own collection of books to
be shared by both the townspeople and its students. This sharing arrangement
continued until 1961 when the Academy was given the A. G. Baker Memorial
Library for its own use.
Substantial bequests from
many townspeople over the years enriched the endowment fund. With the exception of the $1,000 annual town
contribution, and a similar $500 state grant, the endowment income was the sole
means of supporting the library's operating costs until 1969, when the town's
budgeted contribution began to increase gradually.
In 1965, the elected Board
of Directors engaged a professional consultant to make recommendations about
their needs in library and educational services. This report determined that
the building was inadequate in size and that additions were not advised. The 1965 Suffield Annual Report states, “Based
on a 20-year projection, Mr. St. John foresees the need for 16,250 square feet
of library space, a considerable increase over the existing 4100 feet. … The
proposed building should be large enough to house a collection of 60,000 to 75,000
books and to serve a projected population of 20,000 to 25,000 by 1985.” (Note: the actual building as constructed is
14,500 square feet).
The Library section of 1966
Suffield Annual Report starts: “Our book collection of 22,689 has now caused
the library shelves to burst at the seams.”
The current building was
completed in 1972 (see Section 4 below).
Over the years, there have
been many innovative changes within the library. From 1976 to 1987, the library provided a
bookmobile service (via station wagon) to four locations in West Suffield once
a week in the months of July and August.
From 1977 through 1983, a small summer-only library branch at Babb’s
Beach was open. 1983 was the first full
year that Kent Memorial Library had a computerized circulation system. In 1988, the library added a small collection
of music CDs and a CD player that could be borrowed.
After its founding in 1940, The Suffield Historical
Society chose the Kent Memorial Library to be the repository of its documents
and photographs. The materials were added to the library’s already extensive
historical collection. About ten years
ago, the Historical Society ceded ownership of its collection to Kent Memorial
Library. As a result, Kent Memorial
Library’s historical collection is one of the richest in the state, and is a
haven for researchers of early Connecticut/ Suffield history. The collection includes early account books
of farmers and businessmen, diaries, letters, and photographs.
4. The Current Library and Building
THE
BUILDING
In the late 1960s, due to overcrowding at the old location, the decision
was made to purchase the present site, which was located in the Redevelopment
Area. Warren Platner was hired as the
architect. The building funds were
obtained by liquidating approximately half of the original endowment, selling
the old building to Suffield Academy, obtaining Federal funds, and using
private donations. None of the cost was borne by the town.
Construction was completed in 1972, and Kent Memorial Library officially
moved into its new location at 50 North Main Street. The following year, with support from Sidney
Albert’s grandson, Suffield Academy renovated the old building and constructed
an addition to it, renaming it the S. Kent Legare Memorial Library.
The 1973 booklet, All About Suffield, listed many facts about the
new library:
The building has an area of over 13,000 square feet and a collection of
over 26,000 volumes. The building was
planned to handle the library needs of Suffield for 20 years, so it was
designed with a shelf space for 51,000 volumes.
There are areas for fiction, art and music, children, non-fiction and
reference, staff workroom, and a multi-purpose room for children's story hours,
exhibits, and other small group functions. The library has a special room for
an outstanding collection of historical books and manuscripts of early Suffield
and Connecticut material. More than
5000 hold library cards in this town of 9400.
A wealth of detail as to
the dimensions and capacity of the current building are contained in the
Lushington Report, attached to this Presentation as Appendix D.
THE
COMMISSION
The Commission as it is
currently configured is a twelve-member commission. Members are appointed by
the Town Selectmen to serve 4-year terms, with half of the terms expiring in
November of each odd-numbered year. At
the end of a term, each member is normally re-appointed.
The Commission’s financial responsibilities include
areas such as providing fiduciary coverage for the library’s endowment funds
and working with the director and town to achieve a balanced budget within the
constraints of town funding, but also finding the resources to meet the
library’s and its patrons’ operations and their growth needs.
Section 502(E) of the Town Charter provides that the First
Select-Person “shall supervise the administration of the affairs of the Town,
except those matters which, by charter, or by ordinance are exclusively
committed to the Board of Education or other boards or commissions.” The Library Commission is defined as a
“board” or “commission” for purposes of the Charter, in Section 706. Since Section 502 is the only section devoted
to defining the First Select-Person’s “powers,” and section 502(E) is the only
subsection addressing that “power” vis a
vis the Commissions and Boards, Section 502(E) is the best evidence in the
Charter of the intent to define separate spheres of responsibility. Excluded from the First Select-Person’s reach
are those “matters” “exclusively committed” to the Boards or Commissions. A listing of the various authorized boards
and commissions is set forth in Section 706 of the Charter.
Connecticut law provides additional specific guidance as to the authority of the Commissions. In the case of the Library Commission, Section 1206 provides for the continued effect of Connecticut law to the extent “not inconsistent” with the Charter. Connecticut law provides that the “management of [a] public library … shall be vested in a board of directors … Such board may make bylaws for its government and shall have exclusive right to expend all money appropriated by such municipality for any such library.” C.G.S.A. Sec. 11-21. Similarly, Connecticut law provides that a town may establish a public library, but only if “the use of such library shall be free to inhabitants under such regulations as its directors or trustees prescribe.” C.G.S.A. Sec. 11-20.
Generally, these provisions
of Town and State law mandate that management and administration of the Library
is vested in the Commission, subject to financial appropriations from the
Town. The Board holds nine regular
meetings each year. It is governed by a
set of by-laws adopted in 1978 that define the structure of the board; the
timing and structure of its meetings; and the Board’s responsibilities.
Materials and Services
For most of the year,
the library is open from 10:00 to 8:30 Mondays through Thursdays and 10:00 to
5:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. During
the months of July and August, the Saturday hours are 10:00 to 1:00.
Items that may be
borrowed
·
Books
(about 80,000)
·
Books
on tape, books on CD
·
Music
CDs
·
Videocassettes,
DVDs (both movies and non-fiction)
·
Computer
software and games on CD-ROM
·
Museum
passes (Mark Twain House, Norman Rockwell Museum, etc.)
·
Periodicals
(about 105)
·
Equipment
(such as CD player, DVD player)
·
Realia
(educational materials such as children’s puzzles)
Items for in-library use
·
Historical
material
·
Genealogical
material
·
Reference
material (such as Consumer Reports, Town Annual Reports, Chilton car
care manuals, Morningstar)
·
Microfilms (New York Times, scrapbooks, and
census data)
·
Newspapers
(15)
·
Computers
with high-speed Internet access and printers
·
Photocopier
·
Microfilm
reader, typewriter, slide projector
·
Meeting
rooms for public use
Services from home
·
Answers
from Reference Desk via telephone
·
Website
with information about Library, Board, and Friends
·
Online
access to computer catalog
·
Online
access to commercial databases
(example: Heritage Quest, which includes searchable photocopies of all
Federal census records from 1860, 1870, 1900, 1910, and 1920)
·
Online
24-hour live reference service
Services at the library
·
The
above services accessible from home Internet connections
·
Tax
assistance
·
Help
with job search
·
Movies
shown in the auditorium
·
Used
books for sale
·
Book
drop
·
Art
exhibits in the Gallery
·
Exhibit
in glass display case
Children
·
Summer
Reading Program, with separate programs on drumming, magic, and musical
entertainment
·
Story
Hour for children from 3 years and up.
·
Polar
Express (a holiday program with a visit from Santa Claus)
·
Seasonal
programs (e.g. pumpkin carving, candle making)
Teens
·
Book
Discussion Group
Adults
·
Book
Discussion Group
·
Foreign
Film series
·
Popular
film series
·
Programs
on subjects ranging from ESP to cartooning.
Currently the Library is
part of a consortium using Dynix as the ILS. The circulation, cataloging and
PAC modules are in use. Currently
patrons are able to access the catalog via the Library’s website, place their
own holds and renew their own materials.
The Library’s fees, fines and due date table from the circulation module
is in place for patron self renewal.
At the present time, the
Library has 23 workstations as part of a LAN.
There are 7 workstations that are dedicated to staff functions with the
balance of the workstations being used for various tasks for the public. Access to the library’s bibliographic and
patron databases is provided via router to a DSL line. The ILS traffic is routed directly to the
server housed at the consortium headquarters with all Internet traffic going to
Digital Backoffice.
There are 7 printers,
ranging from a Hewitt Packard 4L to a Hewitt Packard 2300 network printer. There are two receipt printers connected to
the circulation desk workstations.
Telecommunication
The Library is connected to Bibliomation, www.biblio.org,
via a DSL line. On site equipment
includes a CISCO router, a patch panel a 24-port switch that allows duplex
processing, with a patch panel all on a technology rack. The Library has been wired with CAT 5 wiring
that allows for 100mps throughput.
Lagging response time issues have been addressed at Bibliomation by
segregating circulation transactions on a separate telecomm line. Internet and staff email traffic is on a
second line.
All Internet traffic goes directly to Digital Backoffice, the Internet service
provider for Bibliomation. DBO also
provides a firewall of sorts meaning that DBO provides an ip
address to Bibliomation. Bibliomation in
turn provides a series of subnet numbers to each member library. Because of this
configuration, the member libraries ip addresses are not visible to the
outside. Each PC is installed with a
100mps NIC card
Integrated
Library System
The Library has used an automated circulation system since
the early 1980’s. The current vendor is
Dynix. The Library is using the Horizon
circulation module. The cataloging/technical
processing department uses the cataloging module that is provided through
Horizon. The OPAC is available via the
Internet, with a link provided on the Library’s website. (www.suffield-library.org). The
software being used for the OPAC is Horizon Information Portal 3.04 (HIP).
The Library currently primarily serves children in its community
outreach. We run a summer reading program, story hour, and other seasonal
special programs. In the past we have run programs in conjunction with schools
and school librarians and have run orientation to the library and library use
for elementary school children. In addition, a film program and book discussion
groups draw into the library a range of people from the community. An
underserved population is the elderly who, while they use the library, have
accessibility issues both for those who are handicapped and those who are
unsteady. Also, we do not have programs specifically designed for the elderly.
The staff has grown over
the years to include a director, assistant director, children’s librarian, and
three other principal full time librarians. They are assisted by eight part time
staff who work over three hundred hours a week. At the time the library
building was occupied in 1972, the total staff was five.
Library Finances
The operating budget in
the year the present building was occupied (1972) was $46,000. In the fiscal
year 2004 the total operating budget for all areas including everything from
books, utilities, computer and technology equipment and leases, and staff
salaries and benefits was $427,000.
For the last three years
the budget has been essentially flat with minimal three to four percent
increases based on Town fiscal constraints.
The Town’s contribution in 2004 was $347,000, or less than
one percent of the total Town budget.
The balance of the
operating funds, $80,000, come from the Library’s endowment, and from fines and
fees. Each year direct library generated funds make up fifteen to twenty
percent of the total operating budget.
5. Town
of Suffield Demographics and Projections
The demographic data from the 2000 Federal Census shows that Suffield
had a population of 13,552, with 7,303 males and 6,249 females. The population
is 87% White, 7% Black, and 4% Hispanic.
These figures, however, include the 1,537 inmates of Walker and
MacDougall Prisons. The inclusion of the
prison population in this 2000 data skewed Suffield’s averages in terms of age,
gender, race, education and income. In
order to get a picture of those citizens of Suffield who are potential library
users, the following paragraph uses 1995 town data, before the completion of
the prisons.
Suffield is a community with a population that is older, wealthier, and
more educated than the state average.
The 1995 state averages show that 52% of the population was older than
35, with 28% over 50. For Suffield those
figures were 57% and 31% respectively.
Suffield’s per capita income was 22% higher than the state average, and
ranked 35th out of the state’s 169 towns. Its percentage of the population on public
assistance was 2.7%, as compared to a statewide average of 9.5% and the median
town’s figure of 3.6%. More than 30% of
Suffield’s adults over 25 had a 4-year college degree, versus 27% for the
state. The town is not racially diverse.
Its population was 1.5% black, about 1% Asian, 1% Hispanic, and 96%
white. The most common ancestries are
Italian, Polish, Irish, and English.
The town has only recently been categorized as a suburban community,
after having been considered a “rural” community well into the 1990s. Suffield has an area of 42 square miles,
making it the 24th largest of the state’s 169 towns, 2-1/2 times the size of
Hartford. It is sparsely populated with
264 people per square mile compared to the state average of 676, and the median
town’s figure of 393.
The library is located at the main intersection in the center of town,
and is within 4 miles of all residents in Suffield’s 06078 ZIP code. It is a longer drive for West Suffield
residents (ZIP code 06093), with distances of 5 to 8-1/2 miles for those West
Suffield residents who live “over the mountain.”
Suffield was settled in 1670, and by 1774 had grown to a population of
2,017 people. From that point, the town
grew slowly at a consistent rate for about 175 years to reach a population of
4,895 in 1950. During that time, there
was never a decade where the town population increased by more than 11%. In the five decades from 1950 to 2000, the
increases were 39% in the 1950s, 27% in the 1960s, 8% in the 1970s, 23% in the
1980s, and 5% in the 1990s. Using a
50-year average expansion rate, Suffield’s non-prison population will reach
18,000 in 2024. If the population
increases at the rate of the last 30 years, it will not reach 18,000 until
2036. For library planning purposes, the
planning committee has estimated that for a 20-year use, Suffield’s library
should support a town population of 18,000.
In 1970, Suffield’s population was 8,634,
consisting of younger and larger families than are typical today. There were 2,780 children (32% of the
populace), and 2,334 (27%) were enrolled in Suffield’s schools. Thirty years later, in 2000, Suffield had
grown to a town of 12,015 people, of whom only 2,180 (18%) were schoolchildren.
In 1970, the library’s collection was 25,596 items, or 3 items
per citizen. Two years later, after the
move to the current building, the collection had grown to 26,631. The new building was designed to have space
for 51,000 volumes, which was the projected need for 20 years in the
future. In point of fact, after that
20-year period, the actual 1992 collection was 44,682, still comfortably within
the projection. By June 2003, however,
the collection had grown to over 95,000, nearly 8 items per citizen. Even by using very high and low shelves and
adding many new freestanding shelving units, our crowded library was bursting
at the seams.
In 1970, the
library’s circulation was 43,829 items, or 5 items per citizen. By 2004, the circulation had grown to over
158,000, representing 12 items borrowed per citizen. This represents three and a half times as
many visits to the library to check out items.
In addition, there are many more services and programs available for
people (even non-cardholders) than there were three decades ago. Total library attendance was not recorded in
1972, but by 2001 it exceeded 130,000.
In November 2002, The Chairman of the Library Board gathered and analyzed data comparing Kent Memorial Library to the public libraries of nearby towns of similar size.