The Trustees, Library Directors and Friends of the Library continue their efforts to make the new library a reality.   We are renewing our fund raising efforts to raise 10% or  $250,000.00  towards the new building.  Happily, we are already over half way there!   

 

While our message from December 2008 still rings true, please view the 2009 Town Report for the latest information. 

 

 

December 2008

 

Dear Friends & Neighbors,

 

We ask for your support for a new library for Tuftonboro. Quite simply: We need more room--LOTS more room!

(CLICK HERE to view a PDF file with the proposed floor plan...)

(Image will open in a PDF viewer - you should be able to rotate it, zoom in/out, etc.)

 

More room for people. Since 2002, the number of registered, active borrowers has grown from 1,849 to nearly 3,500. During the same time, library circulation has increased by over 50%. The library is non-compliant with State and Federal ADA regulations for handicap accessibility. Much of the natural light and ventilation in the adult section are cut off by the high stacks we added in 2006, which also block seating areas. People need more room outside, too, where parking is inadequate, especially during library programs and other community group meetings.

 

More room for books. And CDs. And DVDs. And puppets. And…. Designed to hold a collection of 20,000, the building now houses more than 27,000 items. Over the past four years library staff have worked hard and creatively to make the most of the available space by weeding, shelf shifting, and weeding again, by adding over 200 linear feet of shelving, additional paperback racks, adult and children’s AV racks, and DVD stands, and by moving forty full shelves of adult fiction to the meeting room. It’s not enough. We’re out of room again, and we’ve run out of options for utilizing existing space to accommodate the growing collection without degrading or eliminating services.

 

More room for computers. And their many users! Even with three dedicated public access computer stations, patrons must often wait to get online, especially during the summer months. WiFi users have no wait, but they often have no place to sit except the floor or the parking lot, and no place to plug in without trailing extension cords across walkways, inside and out.

 

More room for programs. The meeting room was originally designed to seat 50 adults, but now with bookshelves on two walls (third wall planned for 2009) even 40 chairs is an uncomfortable crunch. And although kids generally sit on the floor for programs, we can no longer safely accommodate the 60-80 we routinely expect for special events like the Polar Express and Summer Reading Programs. Since 2006 we have had to require tickets to limit program attendance.

 

More room for staff. Counter space is at a premium in the workroom, and there’s absolutely no room for a computer station there, so most materials processing actually gets done out at the circulation desk. The small refrigerator and microwave for staff and public program use are stacked up at the back of the only closet. Staff members take lunch breaks in the meeting room, which is now always an open, public area.

 

More room for storage. The library’s solitary closet is bursting at the seams, jammed from floor to ceiling with program and building maintenance supplies, library records we must archive by law, and the water pump, water heater, and ventilation ducts. It is only possible to edge into the closet sideways. In violation of Town safety guidelines, the boiler room also serves as storage space for screens, signs, hoses, snow shovels, ladders, fluorescent light tubes, and an interior door. The public meeting room entryway is permanently clogged with chairs, tables, and dozens of boxes of sale books. We have to move four heavy air conditioners in and out of the Town Office basement twice annually. Chairs, tables, bulletin boards, magazine racks, and shelving that we can still use but can no longer fit anywhere in the library sit in the unsecured, unheated Dearborn garage, and clutter the Boy Scouts’ room at the Town House.

 

A NEW LIBRARY WILL PROVIDE THE ROOM THAT TFL NEEDS TO GROW WITH OUR COMMUNITY. And that’s what we’re working towards. In May, 2006, the Selectmen approved use of 11.5 acres of Town-owned land behind the present library building. Wetlands and topographical mapping were completed in late October. Architect Tom Wallace, who designed the addition to the current building in 1989, presented three options for consideration, and the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the final design for the new building on January 11, 2007.

 

On October 11, 2007, the architect provided an updated project cost estimate of $2,056,600. This includes everything -- architectural design fees, engineering and site work, construction, septic, furnishings, landscaping, and contingency. If voters approve this project at Town Meeting in 2009, we propose to fund it through bank financing over 15 years, which will provide flexible options including refinancing if necessary/favorable, early payoff with no penalty, and no bond closing costs.

 

We know that times are tough – that’s reflected directly in ever-increasing library use. We also know that construction costs and interest rates are lower now than they have been for years. The Trustees and the Friends of the Library are continuing their ongoing fundraising efforts and have committed to covering the first two loan payments in 2010, so there will be no expense to taxpayers until 2011. We currently have in hand almost 10% of the total estimated project cost, in donations ($102,827), firm pledges contingent on a positive vote ($13,500), and previously appropriated Town funds ($85,300). The 2011 tax impact on a $350,000 home will be about $70, and that amount will decrease every year following.

 

We aim to ensure that everyone in Tuftonboro will have access for many years to come to the first class library services and resources that all of us now expect and enjoy. We invite you to stop by the library anytime to look at the plans, talk with staff, and find out how you can help your library to grow. And of course, we invite your comments, questions, and suggestions any time by e-mail at info@tuftonborolibrary.org or by phone during library hours, 569-4256.

 

                                          Tina Antonucci, Chair

                                       Liese Gauthier, Treasurer

                                      Mary Ann Murray, Secretary

                                              Board of Trustees