Staff Writer

There are times Lee Koenigs feels like she’s working in a cave of books. 

The assistant director of Edith Belle Libby Memorial Library in Old Orchard Beach shares her small office with towering stacks of books, boxes of paper and volunteers who have no other place to work.

That would change, she said, with a library expansion to provide more space for staff, patrons, books and technology. The Town Council last week indicated support for a November referendum to expand the 3,450-square foot library with a $2 million bond.

A public hearing on the issue is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 6. The measure needs council approval by Sept. 20 to appear on the Nov. 8 ballot. 

“We’re 25 years out of this building as far as space goes,” Koenigs said Friday while she worked in her cramped office. “It is a constant shuffle. For every book put in we have to take one out. It’s a shame when you have to constantly pull out books.”

But the library’s issues go far beyond books, Koenigs says: The facility has no dedicated quiet space, no meeting room, no archive space for historic documents and little space for computers or children’s programs.

Former town selectman Frank H. Libby left property and money in his will to establish the town’s first dedicated library space named in honor of his late wife. When Libby Library opened its doors in 1956, it was designed to serve a community of fewer than 4,000 people.

Fifty-five years later, the town population has tripled and circulation has grown from 15,000 to 37,000 annually. The library serves an average of 100 people daily and more than 200 people stop by each day in summer to check out books and DVDs and use the library’s computers for free Internet access.

The library offers patrons one reading chair, one reading table and one worktable. Patrons who use public computers sit elbow to elbow in a space carved from the children’s room.

“I think the way this lack of space affects our patrons is we cannot meet their needs fully or efficiently,” Koenigs said. “We limp along meeting the needs of our patrons the best we can, but we know that is far short of the mark.”

The $2.2 million renovation would double the size of the library and provide space for private study, more room for its growing media collection and dedicated space for computer users away from patrons who are there  to read or study. The expansion also would provide a large children’s room, quiet reading area and community meeting room

The renovation would make the building fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, incorporate green construction and a geo-thermal heating and cooling system. The town also would have access to an expanded library as a warming and cooling station for residents.

The library, which receives 99 percent of its annual $225,000 budget from the town, has already raised $200,000 for the project and continues to accept donations.

A three-dimensional model of the renovated library sits just inside the door of Libby Library. Koenigs said she “drools a little bit” whenever she walks past and thinks about the space the renovation will create.

“It will give us the ability to meet our patrons’ needs so much better,” she said. “The community directly benefits. This is their space. It’s a win-win.”

Circulation Librarian Sheila Lauzon agrees.

“The space hasn’t changed since 1956 and the increase in patronage has dramatically increased,” she said.

Expanding the library would allow staff to buy more than one copy of a book, increase the movie collection and better help patrons access services they depend on, Lauzon said. She said the library is an important resource for residents, including a growing number of people who depend on the computers to look for jobs.

“The library is such a great resource for so many people,” she said. “It’s a very positive place, very uplifting.”

Children’s Librarian Kim McLaughlin said she dreams of the day she can offer more programming for the library’s youngest patrons. Furniture is removed from the children’s room to make way for story time, but most other activities must be held outside.

“There’s just no space for special programming,” she said, noting this Saturday’s puppet show will be held on the library lawn. “I can’t have an overly boisterous program because it does affect other patrons.”

Volunteer David Gates said it is sometimes difficult for patrons to sit down and comfortably read the newspaper because of limited space.

“There is just not enough room,” he said. “I’ve been in here when it’s mobbed and there’s almost a line out the door.”

Librarians aren’t the only ones who notice the shortage of space.

Resident Judy Langford visits the library for an hour every morning to use the computer. She said there is enough space until the person next to her needs to spread out papers to work.

“I think they could definitely use more space,” she said as she checked her e-mail. “There’s a tremendous amount of people who come in here in the summer.”

Charles and Mildred Smith perused a rack of movies before checking out both movies and books. They frequent the library and said they would like to see it expand to offer the community more space.

Nearby, resident John Guzik sat at the library’s lone reading table last week and flipped slowly through a newspaper. He said he visits the library almost daily and always stops by in the morning when it is less busy. He believes residents will support the expansion.

“It definitely needs more space. It’s really cramped,” he said. “The world’s getting to be bigger and everything is expanding.”