'Green' Plans in Place for the New Westwood Library

While Westwood prepares for the construction of a new public library early next year, designs are currently in place to ensure the building is as energy-efficient and technologically-advanced as possible.

"We've always been interested in having a green building," said Westwood Public Library Director Thomas Viti. "And there was some additional grant funds available from the state for us being LEED certified."

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification system that verifies a building or community has been appropriately designed and built using energy efficient means and materials.

"There are different levels that you can achieve," Viti said, "and one of the consultants that we hired when we hired the architect firm was a firm that specialized in green building applications. We're looking at solar; we're looking at reducing the amount of electricity in the building. There's a whole checklist of things that we can do."

The cost for the entire project is about $12 million, but the LEED certification has brought in a grant award of about $300,000. Adding to that, about $800,000 has been raised in cash and pledges, and the Westwood Library Trustees have set up a non-profit, called "The Westwood Public Library 21st Century Fund", to receive donations.

Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners has awarded the town an additional grant of about $3.7 million, which was presented in a large check to the Westwood Board of Selectmen at a meeting on Monday, July 19.

Town officials are working on a list of potential bids for the new building's construction, and the town will pay the remaining cost. The project was approved by a vote of 1,480 to 850 at the Annual Town Election in April.

"We've been looking to improve the library for many, many years," said Jane Wiggin, Westwood Library Trustees chairperson. "First, the whole reason behind it was the library was too small for our community and it's completely inefficient for any kind of energy use at all.

"We looked to have a building that would meet the needs of a community and that is also energy efficient," Wiggin added. "It would be irresponsible for us to not consider that priority."

One of the things that sets this project aside from traditional building projects, Wiggin said, is that all of the money is being granted to the project up front, rather than after construction has been completed.

Energy efficiency aside, the project will also feature a host of new technological features to ensure a more smoothly-run library experience for staff and patrons.

"We're looking at using a number of things to make use of the building simpler for the staff, and more efficient to the public" Viti said. "We'll be going from one circulation desk to two, we'll have some check out stations and we're using RFID technology."

Viti estimated that each of the necessary steps in checking a book in or out adds up to librarians physically touching materials at a minimum of one million times a year.

But the use of Radio-frequency Identification (RFID), which is similar to using EZ Pass when passing through a highway toll booth, would allow staff to check in multiple items at one time, cutting the number nearly in half, which would help staff prepare to deal with an expected 25 to 50-percent increase in usage by residents. The increase, Viti said, is typical once a new building has been opened.

The building will also feature computers and a wireless network for patrons to use, and a separate room is being designed into the plans for a potential materials sorting machine down the road. 

Viti said that while it's tough to stay on top of up-and-coming technologies, the new building will be ready to handle new mediums if they are to surface.

"I think that the key to this is to be open to change," Viti said. "To see what technologies really catch on to the public. It's always a challenge to see what formats are going to be accepted by people, and usually it's those that are the most transparent."

The project is expected to break ground in early 2011. Currently, the town is looking for ways to provide library services during construction, which could mean extended hours at the Islington Branch and programs held in off-site locations.

The new library will sit at the site of the Colburn School, which is adjacent to the current library building. The Colburn School will be moved to the back of the lot during construction, and will replace the current library building.

Because the Colburn School lies within the town's historic district and is of historical significance, the town had to seek permission from the Massachusetts Historical Commission in order to move the building. Once an explanation was made as to the importance of the new library, the MHC gave Westwood the thumbs-up to move the building.

But what the Colburn School will be used for has yet to be determined. The building  itself has not been in use since 2005, when the Westwood Public School administration's offices moved from the building to the Westwood High School.

The town, however, has assembled a task force to figure out a best use for the building after the construction of the new library is complete. The task force has a number of objectives.

"The first is to oversee the physical move of the Colburn School to the rear of the lot in preparation for the construction of the library," said Town Administrator Michael Jaillet, who is on the task force along with a number of various town officials, including Viti. "That involves appropriating the land, how to store the building in the back of the lot, and hiring a contractor to perform the physical move of the building."

The more long-term objective, Jaillet said, is to market the building for a new use once in its new location. By the time the two-year project is complete, he added, the task force is hoping to have identified a new user for the Colburn School.

"The idea is that over this period of time to market the building to an outside entity that would then, through whatever financial agreement we make, reuse the building," Jaillet said. "And that we would expect major renovations done to the exterior and interior of the building."

For more information on the new Westwood Library project including updated plans, visit the town library's website, or check out the Library Building Project News blog.