The Baldwin Public Library has kicked off the first phase of its long-awaited $11.6 million renovation, library officials announced on Dec. 26.
The library’s first major building project in two decades, approved by voters in a referendum in May of 2023, is expected to take roughly two years. The facility’s first and second floors will be overhauled, the roof and climate-control systems will be replaced, and new spaces and services will be added.
A library survey conducted in February 2023 invited community members’ input on suggested renovations. Based on the results, the library and H2M Architects + Engineers, based in Melville, created a preliminary design plan for the first and second floors.
“These renovations are a dream come true not just for the library, but for the community,” Elizabeth Olesh, the library’s director, wrote in an email.
According to the design plan, which can be viewed at BaldwinPl.org, the first phase of the work will focus on the second floor, where a podcast and video recording room will fill a large, unused space, the teen section will be relocated from the first floor and enlarged, and the gaming area will be expanded. The second floor will also include a community room, a business center and individual study rooms.
During the first phase of the renovations, most of the library’s upper level will be closed to the public, but the upper level of the mezzanine, home to part of the nonfiction collection, will remain accessible. For the time being, the fiction collection and public computers will be relocated downstairs.
As part of later renovations on the first floor, the children’s section will be remodeled with a more open design, featuring a large play area, increased sunlight and lower shelving. A passport office and a Baldwin History Room are expected to be the newest additions.
“The use of nearly 8,000 square feet of raw space on the upper level has been hoped for over these past 20 years,” Olesh wrote. “The rest of the building will be renovated, refurbished, and repurposed to address the ways public libraries are used now.”
The average Baldwin homeowner is expected to pay $98 per year, or just over $8 per month, to finance the 15-year bond that will fund the project, library officials said. An additional $1.3 million in federal funds will come from a $15 million Community Project Funding grant secured by former U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito last April.
“We like to say that the Baldwin Public Library is the heart of the community — a strong library builds a strong community,” Olesh wrote. “We are here to serve everyone from birth through seniors. We hope that every Baldwinite will have a library card, use our services, and benefit from the new spaces.”