Why do we need a new library?

In brief, Belmont residents demand more of the library than there is room to provide.

Here are some of the drawbacks to the current main library building. The proposed new design will solve all of these problems and give us a new building that will serve Belmont for many years.

• Children's Room More space is needed for story/craft activities, family activities and children's media collections. Circulation in 2004 increased 12% over 2003 as did the number of programs offered. There is too little room for students to sit and work and some books must be shelved too high for children to reach.
• Space for materials The main library building was designed to hold 100,000 items. There are at least 170,000 now. There are more kinds of items than ever before: talking books, cassettes, DVDs, videos, software, etc.
• Technology The library is an early adopter of technology and has long provided computers and Internet access for people who do not have them at home or work. The current building was constructed long before PCs, so there is not enough room to fit enough computers to meet patrons' needs for software, database and catalog access and training. There aren't even enough electrical outlets, and people with laptops have to string power cords across aisles, creating safety hazards.
• Accessibility Much of the library does not comply with accessibility requirements, including the elevator. Book stacks must be further apart from each other than they are now. They must also not go right to a wall. If we moved the stacks to provide legally-mandated access, there would be little room in the library for anything else (including tables and chairs). Providing this access will help patrons in wheelchairs, the elderly and parents with children in strollers.
• Staff work space Staff members work in crowded areas that make it difficult to get tasks done efficiently. The head of the Children's Room gave up her office years ago so it could be used to hold part of the collection.
• Physical plant As with other buildings from the 60s and 70s (like the high school), the heating and ventilation systems, the roof and other parts of the main library are at the end of their useful lives and need replacement. The new building will have environmentally-friendly systems providing greater comfort to patrons and staff
• Study areas There are no quiet study areas now, and the Young Adult department is too small for all of the students who need to work together there. The new library will have quiet study areas for tutoring, group projects and individual work.