$100,000 Gift Pays Down Principal on Town’s Borrowing

The Friends of the Mendon Public Library and the Heart of our Town Capital Campaign Commitee have given $100,000 to the Town of Mendon.

The gift is to be used to pay down principal (and therefore reduce total interest) on the $350,000 bond anticipation note the town took out during new building construction.

“This gift reflects the generosity of many private donors, and the hard work of hundreds of volunteers, including Deric West of the Honeoye Falls and Mendon Meadows Market Place groceries and the rest of the team who made possible the recent and very successful Heart Beats for Mendon fund-raiser with Gary Lewis and the Playboys,” Ron Knight said in presenting the check to the Town Board. Knight is chairman of the Heart of Our Town Capital Campaign, which is raising private money for the new library project.

This spring the Town is taking out a second BAN of $200,000, bringing its total special borrowing for the new building to $550,000.

In early 2011, the Town Board authorized special borrowing for construction of the new library building of up to $660,000, putting all funding in hand and allowing the project to go to bid. Because the new building came in under budget by $110,000, only $550,000 will be borrowed of the $660,000 that was authorized.

The capital campaign is in process on repaying the $550,000 to the Town. The campaign already has raised private funds for a first payment that was made in 2011; the $100,000 principal pay down; plus the payments coming due on the two BANs this August. It is on its way to raising the remaining $260,000.

The goal of the campaign in paying back the BANs is that the new library building will have no tax impact on residents other than from the $1.35 million bond for library construction that taxpayers approved by a three-to-one vote in 2008.

Your donation or pledge to support our community’s library is very important! Make your gift online using Paypal, download a pledge form (and pledge to pay your gift in several installments) or buy an engraved historic brick.

Get Your 2011 Annual Report!

Mendon Public Library’s 2011 Annual Report includes statistics, pictures and a great overview of library services. Check it out!

You Can’t Judge a Book by its Cover

The light fixtures have been added since our previous post about the ceiling, "New Library, Looking up." The protective covering is still on the lamps in this shot.

While poor weather conditions have posed some challenges to working on the outside of the new library this spring, a beautiful transformation is taking place on the inside, as evidenced by these two photos of some of the lovely interior details in phase 1.

This cabinetry is part of the circulation area.

The Most Important Building in Town

This week longtime library supporter (and cross country ski enthusiast) Ruth Hayes shared an article from Yankee magazine called “The Most Important Building in Town.” Written by well-known New Hampshire writer and author Edie Clark, the article about libraries ends by saying:

The small town library, once a place of sometimes-dusty books, has found a way to not only survive in this new world but to be indispensable.  The idea that books are or will become obsolete is a bit premature.  What they’ve always given us will remain even though the delivery system may change.  As far as I can tell, the library can still take us not only back to the 19th century, but ahead into the 21st century.

Phase 1 doesn't quite look like this yet, but it won't be long now.

So just what do libraries give us, you ask? According to author janet jai in her new book Saving Our Public Libraries: Why we Should. How We Can, the library is the space that makes possible key interactions between people of all ages and:

• books (and many other materials),
• computers,
• librarians, and
• ideas.

“Equally important these days, public libraries are community anchors and places of safety,” jai writes.

Why is the library important to you? Please post your thoughts in the comments.

Library Info Easels: Where are They Now?

Easel at Pittsford Federal Credit Union, Mendon

Did you see one at the Mendon Marketplace? At the Honeoye Falls Marketplace? At Pittsford Federal Credit Union? Currently they’re at Canandaigua National Bank in Mendon, and Edward Jones and Southern Hills Insurance Agency in Honeoye Falls.

The Friends of Mendon Public Library are grateful to the businesses that have already hosted our three library information easels, to those that are hosting them now-–and to those that will host them next! Thanks also to the HFM Chamber of Commerce for helping us get the word out to businesses about this opportunity.

John O. Price at Edward Jones in Honeoye Falls next to the easel he's hosting

The easels detail what is included with each phase of our new library project, as well as free services you can get from the library. There’s even a flyer of current programs that you can take with you. (Please call Mendon Public Library at 624-6067 if you find the pocket empty!)

Thanks also to Dave Fisher for designing and constructing the easels; to Library Assistant Paula McIntyre for compiling the photos and information on them; and to Friends of the Library Membership Director Stephanie Livingston-Heywood for coordinating easel delivery and set up.

If you’d like to host an easel, please e-mail Stephanie!

2011: The Year of Mendon Public Library (Phase 1)

Progress continues on phase one as the new building is closed in. In phase two, the existing library will be renovated and a connection hall will be built to join the new and renovated spaces.

Click the image to see it larger.

State Office of Historic Preservation Approves New Library Plan

Setting the stage for Phase 2 of the new Mendon Public Library project, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has given HBT Architects its blessing on the plan to renovate the historic section of the current library, and on the project overall.

In a letter dated Oct. 13, John A. Bonafide, coordinator of historic preservation services, writes that the state office of historic preservation finds that “no adverse impact” on the Honeoye Falls Historic District will come from implementing HBT’s plan for the new library, including the Phase 2 renovation of the historic 1936 portion of the library (the white building with the red door that faces Monroe Street). ”These plans called for the removal of a portion of the existing main floor and the establishment of the new main floor on the same level as the 1975 extension,” Bonafide wrote.

In fact, the plan for the historic building is to transform it into a lofted children’s area. In all, Phase 2 involves renovating the entire existing library (both the 1936 original structure and the 1975 extension) and connecting it to the new 7,300-square-foot library now being built in Phase 1.

“As designed, the project does not alter the existing historic qualities that make the district eligible for the National Register or those qualities that caused the library to be inclued as a contributing feature in the listed district’s streetscape. While the current interior space is interesting, with its built-in bookcases and extensive use of pine paneling, the loss of these elements will not impact the contributing status of the building within the district.”

Bonafide also explains in the letter that “the Honeoye Falls Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1993 with a period of significance that extended from ca. 1790 to 1940. It was designated as an intact and cohesive collection of 217 contributing resources that collectively convey the history of the community. The library (1936) is one of those contributing features. Its primary significance is in its place in the streetscape.”

My thanks to the Historical Society members and everyone who helped make this great news possible.**

**Update added October 20: See first comment.

Why Will the Library be Built in Phases?

Building the new library in phases allows the library to remain open during construction. It also allows for funding to be raised over time.

The first phase of the project will be a new building of about 8,000 square feet. After that building is constructed and when funding is secured, the existing building will be renovated and a connection between the new building and the renovated building will be constructed.

The final, completed project will be about 12,000 square feet, three times the size of the current library.