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September 22, 2009

Millville library ready for new home

By JOEL LANDAU • Staff Writer • September 22, 2009

Millville Public Library director Irene Percelli is pleased the city is moving ahead with plans to build a new library, but said the work can't begin soon enough.
The library recently has made a number of cosmetic changes and implemented new programs, and usage at the facility is increasing, Percelli said.
Circulation numbers were comparable to last year during the first half of the year, but in the months of June, July and August, the number of books and materials checked out by residents increased 25 percent over last summer, she said.
"All of a sudden, things started changing," said Percelli, who added the facility has been busier, but she couldn't point to any one reason for the change.
The library has launched a new Web site, added more lighting, expanded some collections, added childrens' programs and is displaying more pieces of art from local residents.
"We've become a lot more visible," she said.
But the library is still operating in an antiquated space that is smaller than libraries in other municipalities comparable to Millville. The library's board of trustees recently adopted a strategic plan for a new building through the Princeton-based firm Library Development Solutions.
A community the city's size should carry between 90,000 to 100,000 items, according to a study by the firm.
The Millville library's collection is only about half that size, Percelli said.
"We don't have a lot of depth in our collection," she said. "We discard and sell materials to make room for new materials."
A new building would allow the library to hold a larger volume of items, more technology, a meeting room, more room to have displays, a kitchen so they could hold social events and possibly a small café for people to socialize, Percelli said.
The study, which included interviews with a number of local resident groups, and public meetings, said a new building was chief among its patrons' desires.
"The building is functionally obsolete," the report quotes one resident as saying.

The library is working with the city to develop the new building. The board is waiting to hear from the city about a location and then would start applying for grants and raising money, Percelli said. A construction timetable has not yet been set, however.

"We are willing to be open and flexible," Percelli said. "We have to be in this economy."
Mayor Tim Shannon said the city is trying to secure some seed money to start the process for a new library and apply for additional grants. Shannon said the study was very informative, and he wants to keep the library within the Glasstown Arts District.
"We have to stop band-aiding the Millville Public Library and try moving into the 21st century with a modern, green, highly technological library this city desperately needs," he said.
As for the present, Percelli said the staff will next start working on a strategic plan and redefine its audience.
"We need to decide what we are," she said. "We don't have a clear mission. Right now, we try to reach out to everybody. If we can understand our biggest target audiences, we can do things just for them."

Posted by tumulty at September 22, 2009 3:43 PM

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