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Image courtesy of BuenaVistaLibrary.org

Buena Vista Library Executive Director Cecilia LaFrance outlined the library’s expansion plans during the June 13 Board of Trustees meeting in Buena Vista. The library hopes to pursue a $4.5 million project to add a second floor and address the community’s growing needs.

LaFrance began by explaining the history of the library. It was founded in 1888, formed as a library district in 1974, received its last funding increase in 1995, and opened the new building in 2006. The actual design of the new building foresaw the need for more space as the community grew. The possibility of expanding the building to a second floor was intentionally planned since the building’s construction.

LaFrance explained the library serves an area of approximately 9,700 residents and has 5,000 active cardholders (and rising). “Our population and popularity are growing,” said LaFrance. “It is a wonderful problem to have.”

According to LaFrance, annual visitors rose from 37,960 in 1995 to 74,000 in 2022. Last year, more than 98,400 items were checked out. Due to the greater population and growing demand for services, the library faces a myriad of issues that need to be addressed. These include limited seating, cramped aisles, crowded shelves, underserving of ages 6 to 12, and more.

“The time to expand on the current facility, thoughtfully planned to accommodate growth, has arrived,” said LaFrance. The planned expansion would add 4,300 square feet and create more room to help resolve many of these issues and better enable the library to provide services to the community.

The expansion would allow for the addition of more study rooms, a small classroom, a technology lab, a community services room (including telehealth equipment), a larger children’s room, and more. “We want to solve all the problems because if we say one is greater than the other, we’re cheating some of our demographics,” explained LaFrance.

According to the Library’s website, the expansion would:

Add More Books and Movies

  • 25 percent increase in books and eBooks
  • 25 percent more space for collections
  • Add a movie streaming app

Allow More Classes and Events

  • 25 percent increase in youth classes
  • 20 percent increase in adult events
  • Add technology classes

Increase Energy Efficiency

  • Replace aging systems
  • Add 25Kw  in solar arrays
  • Upgrade to heat pump type HVAC
  • Potential savings of $10,000 per year

The plan would be to lease space to keep the library’s programs running while the existing building is renovated and expanded. Once the expansion is completed, operation costs would increase, requiring about $1.2 million from the community, which equals about $8 per $100,000 in residential evaluation. Mayor Fay agreed that the project sounded ambitious but not out of reach, citing that it would not be a particularly huge increase in taxes.

Voters can expect to see this topic on the ballot this fall as the library hopes to move forward with community support to better serve everyone in this area. The public can submit feedback and ideas on the library’s website and access more detailed information on the expansion here.