Addison Twp. last week got $10,000 closer to some day building a new public library.
Members of the library’s Friends group presented an oversized check made out to library’s building fund during their Thursday night meeting.
‘This represents all the fund-raising the Friends did in 2008,? said a grateful Nina Ciccolini, president of the library board.
Since 2003, the Friends have been diligently working with library officials to lobby for construction of new facility, one that’s much larger and more modern.
Currently, the library is housed in a tiny 1,400-square-foot building that used to be a kindergarten classroom.
The space, located in the township complex on Rochester Rd. in Lakeville, is literally bursting at the seams with books and other materials, affords visitors very little comfort or privacy, and offers no room for programs or activities.
Ideally, supporters of a new library would like to see the $2.9 million plan created by Ann Arbor-based architect David Osler go from ink and paper to bricks and mortar.
Osler designed a brand new 8,910-square-foot library with an additional 4,000-square-foot unfinished walkout basement for future expansions. Thanks to a donor who wished to remain anonymous, the library already has its future building site ? a 3.78-acre parcel located on the north side of Rochester Rd. between Milmine and Cantley streets.
‘The sign saying ‘Future Home of the New Addison Township Public Library? should be going up across the street within the next week,? Ciccolini said. ‘That will be exciting.?
Unfortunately, supporters of a new library are going to have a long, long wait because even with last week’s donation, the building fund only has $21,947 in it.
Addison Twp. Supervisor Bruce Pearson was on hand for the Friends? check presentation and offered his support for a new township library, even if it means doing it incrementally. ‘I guarantee we will have a better facility,? he told this reporter. ‘We may have to do it in steps. There are all different ways of doing this.?
However Addison gets its new library, Pearson noted the approach must be sensitive to these hard times.
‘Everybody knows we’re in a terrible economy,? he said. ‘There is no way that anybody can spare any money right now.?
Pearson acknowledged how important the library and reading in general are to equipping today’s and tomorrow’s students with the skills they need to be successful.
‘To compete in this world economy, the Number One thing is being able to read,? he said. ‘Without reading, you can’t do math, you can’t read a technical manual, you can’t do anything.?