The Signal Mountain Library Foundation has the green light from the town council to begin raising funds for an expansion to the library building. While the board that operates the library is autonomous from the town, it must receive approval from the town council to make alterations to the town-owned building.
There are no plans yet for how the funds will be raised, but there is an outline for how the money would be spent.
The plans for the expansion include an elevator needed for disabled and older patrons, and a quieter reading room for people to study and conduct research. If the additional room is built over the back patio, it would create a covered space where activities could be held when it’s raining, an option that would be really useful for the children’s summer program, said librarian Karin Glendenning.
“The town’s growing population means a steady increase in our usage, and we just feel like we need these added services for our patrons,” she said.
Participation in the library’s summer reading program nearly doubled between 2017 and 2018, Glendenning said, and participation in preschool storytime has increased significantly as well.
The library’s lower level was renovated two and a half years ago, and is now being used more often for classes, tutoring, special programs and public meetings, necessitating an area for quiet reading that could also be used as a separate meeting space, said Glendenning.
The additional reading room will be built within the line of sight of the library’s checkout desk to avoid having to hire another employee to oversee that room, she added. It will have doors that can be shut to separate it from the main library and enable it to be used as a meeting space as well, she said.
“Karin and all the folks at the library are providing a tremendous service, and that’s obvious because it’s used,” said Mayor Dan Landrum, who serves as the library board’s liaison on the town council. “It’s one of the most active community centers that we have, where people are in and out of there every day, so it’s exciting to see you doing this.”
The library celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2020, making this an ideal time to start the project, Landrum said.
Town Manager Boyd Veal said the logistics of the expansion will likely be handled similarly to the library’s lower-level renovation project, in which the library board raised the funds and donated them to the town, which then managed the project.
“At this point, there’s not a particular ask from the town in terms of funding,” he said. “Obviously those discussions will come in more detail, but at this point, since it is still a town property they’re really asking for some guidance in terms of just general support for the project before they move forward.”
No timeline for the expansion has been set at this time, as it will depend on how well fundraising goes, said Landrum. The foundation does not yet have a cost estimate for the project.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.