By Maddy Vitale
The Ocean City Free Public Library already attracts thousands of patrons a week, with its vast selection of books, specialty sections that cater to children, young adults and adults, and friendly staff ready to help.
The library also features a host of events and activities year-round in the lecture halls and throughout the building, located in the Ocean City Community Center, 1735 Simpson Ave.
But with a $1.3 million project slated for fall of 2019 to do extensive renovations to the building, Library Director Karen Mahar said there will be even more reasons to visit.
“We are really excited about the plan to offer more to the community,” Mahar said of the project. “By May of 2019, I would like to be all ready to go.”
Initially, the plan was to begin the estimated 5-month-long project Dec. 1, but Mahar said it would cut too close to the Memorial Day weekend, when the library starts its peak summer season.
“I was worried about five months. What if it took longer and we were not done by May or June? We get extremely busy,” Mahar explained.
The library was built in 1990 and expanded in 2008 but has not undergone a renovation since then.
A design by architect William McLees of William McLees Architecture in Somers Point, will create larger, brighter spaces, modernize the facility, make it more user-friendly and improve the aesthetics.
One of the major parts of the renovation project is the creation of more “quiet space” for study sessions.
There will be four additional rooms. Currently, there is just one, and it is on a first come, first served basis. In the future, patrons will be able to sign out the rooms.
“People come in looking for a quiet place to study, especially people working from home,” Mahar noted.
Another important aspect of the project is creating a larger area to accommodate the “young adults” section.
“It is small, and we don’t have space to give them,” Mahar said. “I felt bad telling them that the project would have to wait, but they understood how busy we get.”
The project also calls for more “maker space” in an area that would include computers, a 3D printer, audio and video equipment and even sewing machines.
The area, part of the library’s strategic plan, would allow people to create their own projects, which is in line with the growing do-it-yourself trend.
Lighting is also a vital component to the plan. Mahar said that the lighting on the second floor simply isn’t bright enough.
In addition to the project being postponed, the cost also increased from the initial estimate of $720,000 that was announced in August during a public presentation. However, Mahar said, that figure did not include lighting, furnishings, decorative sound barriers and other improvements.
Funding for the renovation project will come from the city’s library tax. Mahar said the library tax will not increase to finance construction.
The plan was pushed back from Dec. 1 for a few reasons. Mahar said everyone agreed that the renovation was too important to rush.
“At the Board of Trustees meeting in November, the project was pushed to January 1,” Mahar said. “Once it was pushed to January, I had discussions with Board President Jennifer Shirk. I also spoke with Bill McClees.”
In awaiting a later start date, she said, the library also has the opportunity to get funding through the New Jersey Library Construction Bond Act.
“We are eligible for funds in a grant program that will be announced in spring of 2019,” Mahar explained. “By doing that, we would be saving money and getting funds through a matching grant.”
Mahar said the library qualifies because of the plan to do renovations to an existing library.
“We have a lot of the leg work already done. We have the construction plans,” she said. “We already have an architect enlisted, and the engineering company. We are in good shape.”
For more information visit the Ocean City Free Public Library at www.oceancitylibrary.org or call 609-399-2434.
