8-15-2025

In theory the library has three program/meeting spaces in the Lower Level. The Children’s Area, Adult Area, and Meeting Room. The reality is much different.

The far side of the Lower Level has been used for Children’s Storytime on Friday mornings possibly as long as we’ve been in the building. That would be since 1981 for those of you searching your memory banks. Thinking back to my first memories of serving on the Library Board, it was very much a basement with tables and a rug. Later shelving for adult fiction was added and a lot of mismatched furniture donations.

The Adult Program Area evolved thanks largely to matching furniture donations purchased by our Friends group. The blue sofas and chairs with a matching coffee table were largely lost in a sea of the mismatched furniture, but present. The mis-matched furniture was removed within the first six months of my tenure, which freed up space for a purposeful arrangement. The Library Board and Friends groups began holding their meetings in that space soon after. Last year’s update made it a welcoming and desirable place to hold meetings and programs.

The official Meeting Room was formerly the Makerspace. Allison (two directors before me) sectioned off this portion of the Lower Level and had an active group for a while. The space was repurposed after she left and used to house overflow children, young adult, and DVD collections. The long tables and chairs allow us to consider it a meeting room; however, they are also way to convenient for storing my next project such as the nonfiction books left over from the May Friends Book Sale. The space also holds what passes for a kitchen: sink, refrigerator, and cabinets. Any meetings taking place during lunch time can make for a grumpy me.

We do have several local organizations interested in using our meeting spaces as well as students looking to study. Add to this the fact that a good portion of that level and a side room which remains largely unknown to patrons contain overflow items from the main floor, and the result is a Library Board that is working toward an expansion or new building.

At the beginning of the summer, we hired HGA (Hammel, Green and Abrahamson) out of Milwaukee. They do beautiful work. One of their selling points was their work with Dodgeville, which took 10 years to reach the construction phase. They have staying power and a full team on staff including a cost estimator who will help keep us under control.

Next week, members of the Board will meet with HGA’s team for the fourth time on Conceptual Design. During these meeting, Kevin and his team ask a lot of questions and show us a lot of options looking for the best fit. Many of you may have noticed the library’s presence at the July Booth Lake Movie Night and August First Fridays. Those were selected as opportunities to gather input from the community at large.

Anyone that we missed who is interested in completing the survey, it’s only six questions and half of them are multiple choice, is welcome to do so. We have copies at the library. An electronic version can be accessed from our Facebook page or library website (the new one).

On September 23^rd at 6:00, HGA will give a presentation at the meeting of the Tri-Troy Boards. Sometime after that, we’ll be reaching out to a cross-section of stakeholders throughout the community for a larger brainstorming session. Final conceptual drawings are expected by late October and will be available at the Friends fall play.

Reading Now: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

Listening to Now: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (This will take awhile – 39 hours to be precise.)