Resident’s ‘vision’ sparks revived interest in push for modernized Manchester library
The call for a modern Manchester library — stifled eight years ago after voters rejected a proposed $12.5 million upgrade — has been revived.
The board of directors on Tuesday approved an exploration of the town’s need for a 21st century library. A subcommittee of the library board, with a few more citizens added, is to be created by resolution at the board’s next meeting.
“What we are initiating now is a process to determine what our community’s vision for a new library is — what kind of space, features, services and amenities should it feature,” board of directors member Dennis Schain said.
“Once we identify these needs,” Schain said, “we will be able to get a handle on costs and also be able to start considering the most appropriate location.”
The desire for an updated, expanded library has not faded since voters rejected a proposed renovation and addition project in 2012. Library Director Doug McDonough has long decried the lack of space for both quiet study and community gatherings and for parents of young children just to park strollers and sit while their kids attend activities.
The library has also been among the top four or five libraries in the state for adult and children’s circulation for years. In fiscal year 2018-19, the library loaned 288,396 books, e-books and magazines from its children’s collection, the most in the state, figures from the Connecticut State Library show.
But the heavily used Main Street facility has long fallen far short of the community’s needs, McDonough and others have said. Last year, the library board said the problems that spurred the 2012 ballot initiative remained or had worsened. Chronic deficiencies included: no spaces for reading, quiet study, tutoring and group meetings; only one bathroom for public adult use in a building visited by more than 700 people each day; and only 15 public internet terminals, despite a study in 2011 that showed there should be at least 40.
The revived interest in a solution was sparked by a concept paper by Manchester native Stephen Ristau titled, “A Vision for a NextGen Mary Cheney Library.” The 67-year-old retired nonprofit executive, who was 9 when Manchester’s last library additions were built, said he has done a lot of consulting for public libraries in Connecticut and around the nation, focusing on how libraries can engage and serve multiple generations and diverse populations.
In the paper that he circulated recently to town officials, Ristau outlined benefits of a modern library.
“Public libraries are a valued community resource, perhaps the most trusted public institution, and an essential platform for learning, creativity, innovation and opportunity in the community,” Ristau wrote.
“Even in today’s fractured digital age, libraries rank among the most popular and well-visited places in our cultural landscape,” he wrote. “As the town of Manchester embraces and commits to a sustainable future dependent upon a knowledgeable, enabled and resilient citizenry, the time is right to invest in the NextGen Mary Cheney Library.”
Discussions about a new or renovated library will be tempered by the town’s current bills, including debt for ongoing school modernization and the still unknown costs of reusing vacant school buildings.
But library board Chairwoman Miriam Byroade, citing Ristau’s paper and renewed attention from board of directors members, wrote in an email to The Courant, “Hopefully something is on the horizon!”
Jesse Leavenworth can be reached at jleavenworth@courant.com
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