The Oxford Public Library turns 80 this year and as part of the celebration the community institution is undergoing a $350,000 expansion to better serve its patrons.
‘This is our birthday present to the community,? said Library Director Judy Doublestein.
Construction is expected to begin this week on a project that will include expanding the teen area to approximately 1,200 square feet; moving and increasing the size of the Adult Technology area so as to allow up to 22 or 23 computer stations; creating more work space for Adult Department employees; and increasing the overall amount of storage.
An approximately 2,000-square-foot empty space, previously occupied by Oxford Township Parks and Recreation, will provide the necessary room to make the whole expansion possible, according to Doublestein.
The $350,000 cost is being covered by $87,000 in the library budget’s fund balance plus a large sum bequeathed to the institution 14 years ago by the estate of William Stanton. Over the years, the library invested the Stanton money in CDs and stocks, the interest and dividends from which increased the sum to $263,000.
Doublestein noted the community would not be asked to provide any additional tax dollars to finance this expansion project.
Expanding the 180-square-foot teen area was identified as a ‘top priority? by a special committee consisting of library department heads, members of the public and teens, and local architect Debbie Jones, Doublestein said.
Doublestein and Charli Osborne, head of teen services, said an expansion is necessary to accommodate Oxford’s ever-increasing teen population. Osborne cited numbers from the Oxford Schools that indicate there are currently 2,400 sixth through twelfth graders. That number is projected to increase to 3,300 within the next five years.
Expanding the teen area is also necessary due to the current size of the teen collection and the cramped quarters it’s housed in. The library’s existing teen collection consists of 4,000 items for youth ranging from sixth to twelfth grade, according to Osborne. She noted that between 800 and 1,000 materials from the teen collection are circulated each month.
Because the entire teen collection cannot fit within the 180-square-foot space currently designated as the Young Adults area, many of the items must be stored in both the children’s and adult collections, Osborne said.
Anywhere from a quarter to a third of the teen collection housed within the 180-square-foot space must remain in active circulation because if all the materials came back at once, they wouldn’t all fit, Osborne said.
Osborne said the teen area’s expansion to approximately 1,200 square feet will allow the entire existing collection to fit in one place, plus provide enough extra space for 400 percent growth in the collection’s size.
More space also means more teens will be able to utilize their collection in their own space. Right now, there are only three reading chairs in one tiny area. ‘We get five people in there, it’s full,? Osborne said.
The new teen area will be able to seat at least 20 young patrons including six at new computer workstations, Doublestein said.
Teens will also get their own service desk and staffing, something only a few libraries offer now.
‘Most teen areas are adjuncts to adult or youth areas,? Doublestein explained. Once the expansion is complete, Oxford teen patrons will have ‘their own area staffed by their own service desk with their own librarian.?
As a result, three additional part-time staff members will be added to the new teen area, primarily to cover nights and weekends when the ‘main thrust? of teen patrons is expected to visit. Another part-timer will have to be added to the Children’s Department to cover Osborne’s move to the new teen section.
Although the expanded teen area will utilize roughly half of the 2,000 square feet formerly occupied by parks and rec., the rest of the space will be designated as the new Adult Technology section.
Currently, Adult Tech. has nine computer workstations devoted to everything from Internet access and genealogy research to finding employment and word-processing. The new area will have room for up to 22 or 23 workstations, according to Doublestein.
The library director said three more computers would be added to the adult area now ? two devoted to internet access (for a total of six) and one dedicated to employment searches (for a total of two).
The old Adult Technology area will become the new ‘off-desk? (meaning away from the service desk) workspace for employees of the Adult Department. It will feature four workstations, so ‘each (employee) will have their own desk space and computer? as opposed to sharing one station in the children’s department, Doublestein said.
More storage will be added to the library as the existing sorting area for book returns is moved and the remaining space transformed into storage. Doublestein said framing for the new storage area’s walls is expected to go up sometime this week.
The entire expansion is expected to cause minimal disruption to the library’s daily operations and patron access, according to Doublestein, who noted the project should be completed in June.
Doublestein hopes to post construction photos on the library’s website (www.oxford.lib.mi.us) so the public can ‘follow the progress of the expansion? and ‘check in on a daily basis.?