Stoughton Public Library Begins Renovation Campaign

Stoughton Public Library

Link to June 26 Stoughton Courier Hub article, "Library begins renovation campaign, discusses future expansion plans".

Excerpt:   Originally a two-story Carnegie Library built in 1908; a 1990 project added two stories. A 2007 renovation to the mezzanine kept its “period feel” when updating it for wireless internet use, said Jamie Vache, library director.

“That renovation (was funded) by a combination of city money and two bequests … and was a successful partnership that could provide a useful example for future projects,” Vache said.

Renovating the second floor would also carve out an area for teens. Although there is currently a youth adult area, “it looks exactly like the rest of the floor, and this would give them a space that identifies it as their own,” Vache said.

New furnishings and shelving would be modular in design so it could be rearranged as use changes and would fit with an expanded library, she said.

Vache acknowledged the discussion has just begun about the city’s involvement in the renovation but has some statistics that indicate the library’s value to the city. According to the library, in the past five years:

• Customer visits up 6.5 percent
• Computer use up 30 percent
• Meeting room use up 55 percent
• Materials in circulation up 15 percent
• Child program attendance up 81 percent
• Adult attendance up 22 percent

The library is open six days a week and averages about 500 visitors a day, which brings people in close proximity to many downtown businesses, said Vache.