Published in the May 27-June 9, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
Patrons exit the Morgan Hill Library, which has been open since 2007. Plans are in the work to expand the building significantly.
Citizens got their first peek at the Morgan Hill Public Library at a ribbon cutting ceremony July 21, 2007 that celebrated the newly-erected building. Since that hot summer day, the library has served as an integral part of Morgan Hill’s quality of life, providing a place not just to check out books, CDs, videos and other material, but for students to study and the public to enjoy workshops and author chats in the program room.
Although our library located in the Civic Center Plaza might be much smaller in size compared with other buildings that are part of the Santa Clara County Library system (especially the gargantuan Gilroy Library), Morgan Hill Life believes the structure’s eloquently natural architecture and its engaging public art makes our library the finest in the region.
When the design process for our library began, the original idea was to build it with a footprint of 40,000 square feet. Budget realities at the city of Morgan Hill scaled back the design to 26,401 square feet. But the architects built into the design the opportunity to expand the building out in various sections as the public need arose and city and county funds became available. That need and that opportunity have now arrived. And in the coming years, construction will begin on our library to expand it to 36,272 square feet, more than a 37 percent increase over the current library’s footprint. A new patio and “reading garden” area will also provide 1,432 square feet in additional outdoor public usage including community events.
The Friends of the Morgan Hill Library recently paid local firm Weston Miles Architects to develop a design for the expansion of the library. The construction will be done in five phases in order to minimize the impact on patrons using the library. If the library expansion was to be done in one major project, the cost would be about $3 million. Done in stages over a series of years, the cost is projected to be about $4 million because of the reality of the construction business. Some of the funding for the project is already available from the library impact fee added to property taxes thanks to a measure passed by county voters in 2013.
For the money, library users will gain a 2,800-square-foot children’s storytime and activity room located adjacent to the kids section. This will enable young people to learn through story-telling, art and science workshop sessions. It will also make the current program room located off the entrance lobby available for more adult events. The current program room will be expanded by an additional 750 square foot and gain a new entrance, enabling groups to use it when the library is closed. This room is popular for educational events and workshops that are free for the public to attend.
The adult section will also be expanded by 1,700 square feet, providing more shelving space. Also, 1,900 square feet will be added to the periodicals/silent reading area, providing more places where members of the public can sit down and relax as they peruse a magazine or book. A “maker space” area is also being proposed where the public can use a 3-D printer and sewing machines as well as use computers.
The Friends of the Library will also gain a new 480-square-foot bookstore as well as a 600-square-foot sorting area. Currently, the volunteer nonprofit group needs to sort books for its sales in a confined area, so a larger area will help them better take care of organization. The staff area will also be expanded so that library employees will have 1,200 square feet in more room to sort materials as well as gaining more administrative office space.
Morgan Hill’s library is a vital part of our community. Some people including school children use it on almost a daily basis. We encourage the community to support this expansion of our library. As our community grows in population over the coming decades, our public library will need even more room to serve the needs of all people who make their home in the South Valley region.
