Library Wants to Hear from Residents

If someone representing the Wyckoff Public Library should call your home in the next few weeks, don't hang up—they want to know what you think.

Do you use the library? If not, why not? What would you like to see at the facility? Are you aware of the expansion project, and if so, what do you think the library's needs are?

These questions and more will be the subject of a telephone survey of residents that the library will undertake as part of efforts to reach out to the public and solicit community opinions.

The survey, suggested by Township Committee members Tuesday, will be just one element of outreach efforts. Library staff also has drafted a letter that will arrive at every home and business sometime next week that will detail the library's expansion plans, which will be paid for out of surplus funds without additional cost to the taxpayers. Additionally, information on the project will be featured in the township's spring newsletter.

"The responsibility is ours to inform the citizenry of what's going on," Mayor Rudy Boonstra said at a Wednesday meeting of the library Board of Trustees.

Much will be going on at the facility, which hasn't experienced significant upgrades since 1972. The board is waiting on state approval of building plans that would add approximately 6,000-square-feet of space to the building, enlarging every pre-existing element while adding a young adults section, enlarged audiovisual space and more room in the basement for community meetings and programs. Structural upgrades, including HVAC work, a sprinkler system and more will be part of the plan.

It has been estimated that the project would cost approximately $3.8 million, and the library has the available funds to pay for it without bonding or having to ask the township for funding. The true cost will not be known until the project goes out to bid, which is expected to begin within the next few weeks.

While the project is certainly no secret, library and township officials alike have seen a need to be more proactive in informing residents of plans. Tuesday's presentation before the governing body was an effort in that regard, with architect Todd Harvey delivering a PowerPoint presentation before several dozen residents, several of whom questioned the architect himself. 

When planning the size and scope of the project, the library conducted a survey in 2008 that sought to determine what patrons wanted to see in the library. Library Director Judy Schmitt told the governing body that patrons and staff were largely in agreement—more children's space, more AV materials, more room for quiet study, etc.—but the survey was done within the building, limiting responses to those who already frequent the facility. 

The upcoming survey would target several hundred residents with listed numbers, a cheaper and more efficient option than a costly mailer that may not even be returned.

"I think a telephone survey is the way to go," said Committeeman Brian Scanlan, liaison to the library board. "I think that might yield some useful information... we might learn something that's valuable."

The survey would largely coincide with efforts to begin getting price quotes on the expansion. Library board members were concerned about whether the township wanted a survey completed before the bidding began, but Boonsta and Scanlan both said the board shouldn't wait to start moving the project forward. Besides, the survey likely wouldn't garner information that would cause a significant reassessment of building plans.

"I don't think the survey would generate material change" to the project, Boonstra said. 

Library trustee Vince Antonacci said the expansion project would likely go out to bid in the first week of April, although the board would not be in a position to award a contract until the state signs off on building plans. Assuming the board's legal representation agrees with them that non-binding bidding can occur, trustees would solicit price quotes with the goal of being ready to award a contract once the state signs off on the plan.

In the interim, architect Harvey is expected to deliver the bid specifications to township Administrator Robert Shannon for review. Boonstra and Committeeman David Connolly also have promised library board trustees the names of several qualified residents who may be able to take a free look at building plans, as the board will eventually need to hire a construction manager to oversee the project.