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Dear Oxford Resident,
Oxford Public Library was awarded an LSTA
grant from the Connecticut State Library to hire a Library Planning Consultant,
Nolan Lushington, who has worked with the community and the Library Long Range
Planning Committee on a Long Range Plan for the Library. To fulfill our mission of independent learning with
an emphasis on children’s services, current topics and titles, and information
services, Oxford will need to focus on improving its library facilities.
Serving as a center for community information and culture, our new Library will
provide personalized service in a light, roomy, attractive space for study and
programs. Our well-planned library should provide patrons with the opportunity
to view art displays, listen to music, and join in book discussion groups. The Long Range Plan includes space and
capacity recommendations for a new building of 17,979 square feet. We have
planned for a beautiful library building that will be a source of pride for the
community and will have space to provide full library services and meeting
spaces for patrons of all ages for many years to come. Mr. Lushington worked
with the planning committee to develop and incorporate the recommendations of
the Long Range Plan into a Building Program that includes all the
specifications that an architect will need to draw up complete plans for a new
library building. This is the summary of Oxford Public Library’s Long Range
Plan which was approved by the Library Board and presented to the Selectmen.
The full plan is available in the library and includes further information
about the planning process, the library and the community, and more detailed
space and equipment recommendations.
Thank you for your support,Lois Hiller, Director, Oxford Public Library
Oxford Library Long Range Plan: Executive Summary
Oxford
is a rapidly growing and well-educated community in central Connecticut. In response to changing demographics, Oxford
is building a new high school, making extensive road improvements, and setting
aside open space to preserve the town’s natural beauty. Efforts are also
underway to define the center of town and its surrounding infrastructure.
For well over a hundred years, Oxford has had library services and library sponsored cultural events. Recent focus group discussions, interviews with prominent town citizens, and town survey results indicate strong support for strengthening that tradition. Participants have also expressed interest in building a larger facility to support their library and community activities.
Surprisingly, Oxford has not improved its library facilities to the extent of neighboring communities such as Southbury. But, a few years ago, a referendum to build a new library came very close to passing. Because of these events and renewed public interest, we believe Oxford will be able to support a larger facility proportionate to the town’s growing population.
The Oxford Public Library is in a unique position to improve its services through a recent offer made by Julian Enterprises Inc.
Julian has offered to help build a new library on the site of its proposed Twin Brooks development. Details of the proposal are still in negotiations between Julian and the Board of Selectmen.
As the offer currently stands, Julian will invest a portion of its funds towards a new library building. Additional municipal and state funding will be needed to complete the project. To create a well-planned and cost-effective facility, we recommend that a new library be large enough to meet Oxford’s emerging needs for the next twenty years.
In determining its size recommendations, the
Long Range Planning Committee has taken into account the following factors:
- Rapid recent population growth
- The need for community meeting facilities
- Annual additions to the library’s collections for the next twenty years
- The need for electronic workstations
- The need for young adults to have an attractive place to meet
- The town’s financial resources for a building bond issue
- Available resources from the State of Connecticut and other grant resources
- Fund raising potential for a new library
Alternatives to our recommendations have been
considered. However, building a smaller
facility will result in poorer services unsuitable for a well educated and
growing population. A smaller facility
would then have to be redesigned again at greater expense to the community. Meanwhile children, adults, and young adults
will receive fewer services and the town would lose the opportunity to improve
its educational and cultural values.
Facility Evaluation
The
existing library has many limitations:
- The library is not handicapped accessible.
- No separate children’s facilities
- No program or meeting facilities
- Few computers —jammed into tiny corners
of the library
- No area for young adults
- No quiet study facilities
- No group study facilities
- Few DVDs, videos, or music
- Materials are jammed together and there is minimum
space for additional materials.
- Lighting is too glary or too dark.
- There is insufficient seating for long-term study.
- The
library is one-fifth the size it should be by Connecticut standards for
communities of its present population size.
Objectives for a
New Oxford Public Library
To fulfill its mission of independent learning with an
emphasis on children’s services, current topics and titles, and information
services, the library needs to focus on improving its facilities. From the
inception of library services in Oxford in the nineteenth century, citizens
have wanted the library to be a cultural and information center. A well planned library should provide
patrons with the ability to view art displays, to listen to music, and to join
in book discussion groups. All of this will motivate patrons to use the
library’s collections.
The
new library should have: 
· A separate children’s area
·
Space for growing collections
·
More seating
·
Quiet study areas and
comfortable places to read.
·
An area for young adults
·
Small and large meeting
facilities
·
Efficient staff work
facilities
·
Space for more computers
·
Secure space for local history and Connecticut collections
· Activities space for The Friends of the Library in Oxford
· Outdoor library space
·
Room for expansion
The following chart, prepared by Lushington Associates, compares the present and future areas and capacities of our Oxford Public Library.
Present and Future Library Space
|
Oxford Library Functional Areas |
Present Area |
Shelf Capacity |
Present Seats |
Future |
Future |
Future |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adult books and reading |
1400 |
16225 |
14 |
6630 |
52652 |
52 |
|
Young adult |
|
|
|
740 |
2000 |
8 |
|
Children's Services |
525 |
2800 |
12 |
2560 |
9000 |
22 |
|
Meeting Rooms |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Program room |
|
|
|
1800 |
|
150 |
|
Meeting room |
|
|
|
400 |
|
15 |
|
Total Meetings |
|
|
|
2200 |
|
|
|
Public Library Totals |
1925 |
19025 |
26 |
12130 |
63652 |
82 |
|
Staff service Areas |
450 |
|
|
1700 |
|
|
|
Library Total |
2375 |
|
26 |
13830 |
|
|
|
Non assignable |
699 |
|
|
4149 |
|
|
|
Grand Total |
3074 |
19025 |
26 |
17979 |
63652 |
82 |
Oxford is growing rapidly and is becoming a highly desirable place to live. The town’s beautiful setting and open spaces have already attracted increasingly well-educated and affluent newcomers. To accommodate the needs of all its residents, Oxford will need to expand and improve its library services in a building large enough to serve the town for many years to come.
Relevant Facts to Consider:
v The average library in Connecticut has 1.07 sq. ft. per capita served. Oxford Public library has .27 sq. ft. per capita served.
v The average library in Connecticut spends $37.35 per capita on the library. Oxford spends $16.40 per capita on the library.
v The average library in Connecticut is open 47 hours/week. Oxford is open 50 hours/week.
v The average library in Connecticut has .6 full-time equivalent staff per 1000 people served. Oxford has .4 full-time equivalent staff per 1000 people served.
v The average library in Connecticut spends $4.83 per capita on library materials (books, CDs, audio books, etc.). Oxford spends $2.45 per capita on library materials.
The
Library Long Range Planning Committee welcomes your suggestions and will
continue to meet on the fourth Thursday evening of each month to promote the
six-year plan and building program for the Oxford Public Library. Your comments
and suggestions are welcome to any of us individually, at the meetings, or by
e-mail to: oxfordlibraryplanning@yahoo.com.
Members of the committee are: Maryellen Joncyk, Chairperson, Essie Lydon,
Secretary, Dorothy DeBisschop, James Hliva, Margaret Kutniewski, Grace
Hanneken, Nancy Farnum, Dawn Higginson, Children's Librarian, and Lois Hiller,
Director. To receive updates from the Library Planning Committee please
e-mail oxfordlibraryplanning@yahoo.com.
Oxford Public Library
486 Oxford Road
Oxford, CT 06478