By Scott Brinton
Harvey, of Beatty, Harvey and Associates in Riverhead, is chief designer of a proposed $10-million library for Merrick that would replace the current structure, built in 1962.
Merrick residents are to vote on the planned library Wednesday, April 24, along with the library budget.
Library of a past era
Speaking of the current library on Merrick Avenue during a tour he gave for the Herald last Friday, Harvey said, "The biggest problem with this building is it's 40 years old."
As such, it no longer meets fire codes. Alarms are placed too high for children to pull in the event of an emergency. Exit signs are too small and dim. There are no strobe lights to warn the hearing impaired of a blaze.
The library also fails to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards. Aisles are too narrow and bathrooms are too small for people in wheelchairs.
The library isn't energy efficient. It has little, if any insulation. Brick walls and single-pane windows conduct heat and cold from the outside into the building. There is but one thermostat for the structure, meaning the entire 14,000-square-foot library is kept at one temperature. It also has no central air-conditioning system.
Library representatives complain the building is cold in winter and hot in summer. Sonya Minkoff, Merrick Library acting director, said, "I can tell you how cold it is from working here 24 years. The draft on cold winter days, when the wind is whipping around, is terrible."
Harvey believes that the new library would not increase utility costs significantly, despite the fact that it would measure almost twice the size of the current building. The reason: The new library would be 100 percent more energy-efficient than the old.
The current library also hasn't the internal electrical wiring needed for modern computers. The original library was built more than two decades before the advent of personal computers.
Brick walls prevent the library from being rewired. So, new electrical and computer cables are strung along walls and covered with gray, plastic tubing. Speaking of the data cable that connects the library's 22 computer terminals, Sondra Green, the library's programming coordinator, said, "It's very rickety. It falls down every few months, and we have to paste it back up again."
The library's main computer server sits along with rolls of a toilet paper in a basement closet, its wiring in a jumble.
The children's room is also located in the basement. Metal-wire mesh covers the room's window slits, allowing in little natural light. The overhead fluorescent lighting covers only the center of the room. The periphery is dark.
Laurie Fensterstock, children's librarian, said of the room: "It's very cold and austere."
The library's biggest problem is that it has run out of room. Minkoff says there simply isn't anywhere to put additional books and audio-visual materials, so after a new shipment arrives, part of the collection is discarded. In fact, library officials purge roughly 9,000 of 91,000 materials annually, said Minkoff.
The library has so little space that half of its main reading room now houses books.
Uphill vote?
Library officials, however, might face a tough battle in getting the new library passed, if a recent community meeting is any indication.
At the late January session, several long-time Merrick residents voiced opposition to the new library, questioning whether an entirely new structure was needed. They wondered why the current library simply couldn't be expanded and refurbished for less than $10 million.
Alan Aaron, a registered architect who has lived in Merrick since 1963, said he would like to see the current building "salvaged" and additions built around it. In saving the old building, he said, the library would have to construct 12,000 square feet of space, as opposed to 26,000, as the current building measures about 14,000 square feet.
Harvey, however, said the library would need so much work to bring it up to current standards that building a new structure would cost roughly the same as revamping the old.
The last time that officials sought to expand the library was 1988, said Minkoff. Voters shot the proposal down.
Residents would, on average, see an $84-85 tax hike if the new library is approved. Minkoff recognizes that the increase would come when both local school districts and the county are seeking to raise property taxes, which could deter residents from voting for the new library.
Minkoff believes, though, that residents will recognize the new library's value. "The library is a reflection of the community's concern with the educational system," she said. "This is a reading community. It is a well-educated community."
Harvey said the library would benefit the entire community, from children to older adults.
He also said that, under all circumstances, the current aging library would eventually have to be replaced or redone. "It isn't going to go away," said Harvey. "It's just going to get worse."
Residents would receive library services from a trailer during construction if the new library is approved.
For a complete look at plans for the new library, check out the Merrick Herald on the Web at www.liherald.com, Jan. 31 and Feb. 7 editions.
Library president to speak on vote
Walter Mintz, president of the Merrick Public Library Board, is to speak about the proposed $10-million library at the next meeting of the Merrick Avenue Middle School PTA.
The meeting is to take place at the middle school on Thursday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome. Refreshments will be served. For more information, call Joan Phillips, PTA president, at (516) 868-7314.
