Letter to Newspaper

The Library Board of Trustees has signed an agreement to purchase land at the
corner of Post Road and Hecker Avenue.

I want to lay out the reasons why we are building a new library building on that
site, where we are in the process, and what you can expect in the future.

First, why are we building a new library, and not adding on to our existing 1957
building? Quite simply, there isn’t enough room where we are now, even by
expanding next door, to build a larger efficient library and provide more parking.
According to the Connecticut State planning guidelines for libraries (a very
conservative source of guidance) our 22,750 square foot library would have to be
expanded to more than 35,000 square feet just to meet our existing needs and to
conform to ADA requirements (which would spread out our collection), and we
wouldn’t have any more parking.

But we know that Darien wants more from the Library. How do we know? You
told us, as long ago as the year 2000, when we started asking the community for
guidance. Many, many focus groups, discussions, and planning meetings later,
the Board of Trustees adopted a Long Range Plan in 2001, showing the need for
more space. More information on this is contained in the Plan, available at the
Library, or on our web site. We are planning for a new library about twice the size
of our current building because we need more space just to keep up with what
we are now doing, and we need additional space to meet the needs of the
community, which have been clearly expressed to us during the past five years.

We have been engaged in discussions with the Board of Selectmen, Board of

Finance and Planning & Zoning for more than three years, keeping them aware
of our needs, and soliciting their advice. At their behest, we have looked at a
number of sites and followed their guidance to keep the library in the center of
town while not buying any site that would impinge on the Town’s recreational
needs. In acquiring the land at the corner of Post Road and Hecker, we have
done just that.

What’s next? We will work with our architects to design a building, present our
plans to the various town boards for approval, and communicate, communicate,
communicate with everyone. It’s likely to take about two years before
construction could start, and another year before we would move in to the new
building.

What will we do with the present library building? We own it and will sell it. We
have no plans to sell it to the Town of Darien, though we will ask if there is
interest. Our plans for a new building are not dependent on selling the existing
building to the Town.
What will the new library building be like? It’s too early to tell, but here’s what
we’ve told the architects: design a building that reflects the character of classic
New England libraries and retain the comfortable, welcoming feel of our much
beloved current library.

If the new building is twice the size of the existing building, will it be twice as
expensive to operate and staff? Absolutely not.

The existing building is very inefficient for heating and cooling (there are four
separate HVAC systems, for example) and it’s not laid out well because of the
many times it’s been expanded. So a new building will provide state-of-the-art
heating, cooling and lighting systems to operate much more efficiently.

More to the point, we are designing the building to take advantage of the most
modern labor saving technology available, to reduce the need for additional staff.
The library has proven its ability to do this already – over the past five years our
investment in labor saving technology has made the Darien Library twice as
efficient as other Fairfield County libraries, and we continue to make progress.
The new building will be the most cost-effective library that can be designed.

Finally, let me end on this note. At the Darien Library we cherish the support of
the community. We are the busiest library per capita in the state with more local
residents visiting and taking out books than in any other community. We are
building a new library to respond to the overwhelming support and use we have
from the community, and I am sure Darien will be very happy with the result. I
look forward to telling you more in the months and years ahead.

Louise P. Berry
Director
Darien Library