Huntington Memorial Library is planning a major refurbishment to expand and modernize its space, and architects presented initial design ideas to the public on Tuesday, March 11.
The library had two public sessions scheduled Tuesday with architects from Lothrop Associates. The morning session drew about 25 people. The second was scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
“We wanted to restore the beauty of this grand home,” Library Director Tina Winstead said.
Huntington Memorial Library is the largest library in Otsego County. There are 8,000 HML library cardholders, Winstead said.
“One square foot per person is a rule of thumb for libraries,” Robert Gabalski, one of the five principal architects of Lothrop Associates, said, which means the library ideally would be about an 8,000-square-foot facility.
The square footage of Levels 1 and 2 are 1,800 square foot each, or 3,600 square feet combined.
“HML is half as big as our community needs according to the master plan,” Winstead said.
HML has three levels, plus a basement that is used for storage and not open to the public. A three-story addition was built in 1959, Winstead said. An elevator at the back of the building provides access to the different levels that have been added to the building.
“A double-sided elevator is ingenious,” Gabalski said. “It allowed architects to increase more square footage within a smaller footprint.”
There are zoning restrictions that prohibit expanding the existing footprint of historic buildings. Gabalski, a registered architect, specializes in historic preservation.
Lothrop Associates has completed more than 100 library projects, he said. Headquartered in White Plains, the firm has been in business since 1967. Its architects have renovated many historic buildings.
“We often hear ‘we need more space,’” Gabalski said. “That can cost millions of dollars. We can optimize things with less square footage.”
Registered architect and senior project manager Kathleen Sowel presented the blueprints of the existing library and Lothrop’s suggestions for optimizing use of the existing space and possibly expanding the third level of HML.
“These are primary concepts and not a design yet,” Gabalski said.
New satellite children’s library
HML Children’s Coordinator Donna Foote announced in a column that appeared in The Daily Star on Tuesday that the library has selected a storefront at 14 Dietz St. as the future home of a new satellite children’s library, due to open by mid-June.
Nearly 200 cardholders responded to a survey two years ago and expressed a positive reaction to a satellite location, Winstead said.
One design idea Lathrop Associates shared would reconfigure much of the lower level of the library now used for storage into a bright, well-lit area for children.
Board Vice President Glenda Bolton said she visited the Gloversville Library on a Saturday and it was full of children on the renovated lower level that is brightly colored and reconfigured.
She said seeing the Gloversville Library would help the audience to imagine what is possible for the Huntington Memorial Library.
Currently, the children’s section of HML occupies three rooms, or 725 square feet, Winstead said. Sowel, the architect who presented alternative blueprint designs, showed how the basement of HML could be reconfigured into 2,000 square feet of space for children.
Foote is in favor of the basement design for children, she said.
Gabalski said one proposal for consideration would keep the current library for the adult collection and move the children elsewhere. Another would be to temporarily move children out during one phase of the construction and minimize disruption.
Lothrop proposed additional square footage stacked on the existing footprint, not adding to the footprint of the building.
“The goal is to be economical and solve the problem of creating additional space,” Gabalski said. “In the next few weeks, we’ll present (our ideas) to the zoning board.”
Repurposing the garage
Lothrop Associates presented the concept of turning the current garage into a new space for children.
“The garage is currently not ideal for our needs,” Winstead said. “It is too small.”
“We find that hoses and snowblowers are taking up prime real estate space,” Gabalski said.
Friends of the Library Board President Diane Aaronson asked if a new garage is part of the plan. Winstead said the team was considering several options. Building a shed or a garage within the park are being considered. Offsite storage is another option.
Plans include waterproofing the walls.
“Moisture matters,” Gabalski said. “You have an old stone foundation.”
Certain elements of the building need to be brought up to code, including replacing a hidden wooded staircase from the third-floor level.
Currently, neither public restroom in the library is ADA compliant. Gabalski recommended tucking the restrooms behind a new circulation desk that would be more central to the new design.
“We have a lot of tutoring in this building,” Winstead said. More private meeting rooms and more natural light is part of the new design.
Susan Kenny, a member of the Friends of the Huntington Memorial Library board of directors, asked about including a cafe.
“A cafe is completely possible,” Gabalski said. “Designing the cafe is the easy part. The politics of the decision is the hard part. We don’t want to take business away from Main Street.”
A phased approach to building renovations would save money overall, Gabalski said.
“It can be a 12-month project or a 5-year project,” he said. “Getting it done fast can cost millions of dollars to move out … If you sequence it and bite it off in little sections, you can do this over time.”