Manhasset library takes step toward $500K repurposing project

Max Zahn
The Manhasset Library Board of Trustees last Wednesday discussed an effort to repurpose the facility. (From l to r) Board President Charles Jettmar, Board Vice President Gloria Su and Board Treasurer Donald T. O’Brien

The Manhasset Public Library took its first formal step toward a $500,000 repurposing of its facilities on Monday by issuing a request for architects to send their qualifications for consideration, Maggie Gough, the library director, said.

“It’s about taking a look at the existing space and trying to find a design concept that is going to increase flexibility of the space so we can deliver more services,” Gough said.

After gauging the interest of architects, the library will issue a request for design proposals. Gough said she aims to select a design plan by the end of June.

Judith Esterquest, a member of the library Board of Trustees, said the effort reflects “the library’s desire to serve its patrons.” 

Last February the trustees enlisted the help of Roger Smith, the architect who designed the library.

“People are asking for additional study space, a space where they can play games and where they can set up computers,” Gough told Blank Slate Media last February.

She was unwilling to give further detail about the plans, citing the need to await proposals from architects.

The library opened at its current location in 2005. Discussions of a repurposing plan began in 2011, when Gough joined the library staff, she said.

She said the library is also considering a parking lot expansion and a significant maintenance project.

The maintenance ranges from a “roof replacement to a boiler replacement to a rewiring project,” she said. “People usually don’t see some of this stuff but it impacts the library’s ability to work and function.”

The library will not issue bonds for the projects because it has saved money over the last few years, Gough said.

“We want to be able to fund our projects without asking any additional burden from people in our community,” she said. 

She estimated the library has a million dollars in its capital reserve.

“Savings go very, very quickly once we start engaging in any of these projects,” she said.

Gough and the board president, Charles Jettmar, said the repurposing will be completed within two years.

“A library is a living organism,” Gough said. “We just have to keep changing and modifying it as per the needs of our community.”

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