Goshen library considers move to 1887 building. (The Chronicle, 7/7/2011)
Excerpt: The current building must limit the number of people allowed downstairs, where children’s classes and workshops are held. Children in wheelchairs cannot participate in library programs because the downstairs area is not accessible. Wheelchairs also can’t fit between the narrow aisles of books upstairs. Every year the library has to apply for a variance to stay open because it doesn’t comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires wheelchair accessibility.
Years of planning and still no library.
The 1887 building lease is only the latest idea in ten years of planning for an expanded library. The library had secured a $600,000 loan to buy property in the Salesian park, where the former board had hoped to put up a new building for $19 million. But a 2008 referendum overwhelmingly rejected the plan, and the library is still paying off the loan.
Land o' Goshen.
While the GPLHS has had its problems for years, it still serves a robust patron base with a wide variety of items.
ReplyDeleteThe public didn't want to shell out 19 million dollars the year the US economy crashed. Sensible.
Ed Diana's proposal sounds pretty good - but the library board has to get past learning Robert's Rules and actually decide to do something. With the exceptions of comments by Roddy and Wolper,current members seem content to say and accomplish very little.