Aleena Nasruddin, Reporter
@anasruddincour1
In two years, New Canaan residents will be studying in a new three-story library in town with a cafe, fireplace, ultra-modern teen lounge, new meeting rooms, a larger auditorium, and a one-acre Town Green.
The Director of Development, Ellen Crovatto, said that the team of librarians started the new plan 15 years ago with Centerbrook architects. These architects specialize in nonprofits, academic institutions, and libraries. In 2012, the architects conducted a series of community workshops that discussed what people wanted in a new library. “That community feedback led us to institute more programming, more space and light, more comfortable seating, more quiet spaces, more meeting rooms, and coffee into our new library,” Ms. Crovatto said.
The new library will be incorporating new meeting rooms for the public non-profits in town. “We will change from having two small interrogation cells downstairs to ten meeting room spaces that vary in size and can fit four to thirty people,” said Ms. Crovatto. There will be nine glass-enclosed meeting spaces, as well as two 30-person conference rooms.
Teen Service Librarian Kathleen Crouse said that the current library has a very open arrangement that makes it hard for different age groups to not disturb one another because the building wasn’t designed to have a teen services program. “The biggest struggle we have right now is that teens can’t have a lively environment where they won’t disrupt others,” Ms. Crouse said. A new Teen Center instituted in the building would allow everyone to speak at a normal level and not have to be under the eye of the adults at the library. The Teen Center would be enclosed in glass with multiple tables for teens to collaborate and the vast array of teen books offered at the library easily accessible on shelfs. “The big excitement is that the enclosed space would allow teens to have real ownership and feel totally comfortable,” she said.
Ms. Crouse said that the building previously did not have a Teen Services program and the building was not designed to include it. “It is nice to be in a place where we can actually build a place for Teen Services, instead of just squeezing it in,” Ms. Crouse said. “The big excitement is that we can design what the library needs right now, rather than what it needed in the past.”
Executive Director Lisa Oldham said that one of the primary reasons they are instituting a new library is to become a platform for all different types of learning. “I believe we should look back to Alexandria, Egypt to find other platforms for learning, such as debate, lectures, discussion, drama, and experiments,” Ms. Oldham said. “Books are our core-business and a big part of our future, however they are just one format for the transmission of ideas and knowledge.” She sees the growing importance of experiential learning for students through Makerspaces or STEAM labs, which will be included in the new building.
The new building will also showcase a new auditorium that can seat 300 people and is 50% larger than the current auditorium. The current auditorium has no windows, a low visibility for the audience, and an efficient cooling system. “The new auditorium will be light and airy, and have phenomenal acoustics,” Ms. Oldham said. The back of the auditorium will also feature a teaching kitchen for all age groups. “The library’s mission is to help people learn and New Canaan is especially interested in food culture, so we know there is a huge demand for culinary education,” she said.
The main priority that will be addressed with this new library is the outdated infrastructure that has not been renovated since 1979. Ms. Oldham said that the building is extremely inefficient to heat and cool. “Because this new project has been on the cards for so long, we haven’t replaced some things that probably need replacing,” Ms. Oldham said. “Knowing we are going to have a new library, we are just hanging on to what we have got.”
The new building features a new mid-century modern style that is also apparent in other New Canaan landmarks, such as the Glass House. “New Canaan owns modernism, it’s our brand,” Ms. Oldham said. “We want to pay tribute to the architectural heritage here by making our building an homage to the mid-century modern.”
The new library will also have a one-acre Town Green that will provide the town with a place to host outdoor activities, such as fairs or concerts. Ms. Oldham said the idea of the Town Green serves as a place to socialize, which is important for everyone across all age groups. “We are building that social capitalism, which makes our community resilient and durable in the face of whatever happens,” she said. “The Town Green will serve as a beacon for people to come and enjoy being outside, being in town, and being with other people.”
The Former President of the Board of Trustees and the co-chair of the Capital Campaign for the new building, Alicia Wyckoff, said that the new Town Green would be important in New Canaan’s community. “The Town Green will invigorate downtown and give people a space to gather,” she said. “It will also serve as an economic driver because it will bring foot-traffic and business to the downtown area.”
The library hopes to raise more funds for these plans by having on-going activities, as well as accepting donations online. So far, the library has raised about $16 million and has asked the municipality for the first time to contribute to the building itself. Starting in May, there will be more fundraising activities for the community to take part in, such as 5k runs. “We got a few gifts from small children who gave us their life savings from their piggy banks, which was extremely moving,” Ms. Oldham said. “We hope that everyone who wants to get involved would participate at whatever level they can.”
According to Ms. Crovatto, the library has reached 50% of it’s fundraising goals. “We would love to have a teen advisory committee specifically for the new building that would inform us on what they would like in the new building,” she said. “We would like to get the word out and have people donate online.”
Ms. Crouse said that the library serves to support anybody who needs to study, especially during midterms and finals, but also serves as a social gathering area. “The library hopes to help you explore some of your interests that you wouldn’t have a chance to explore in a structured environment like school,” Ms. Crouse said. “The library is a place where you are welcome and supported.”
