Scarborough Library Expansion was the topic of the January 28th meeting.
Scarborough Library Director Nancy Crowell was the guest speaker on Tuesday, January 28th, 2020. She talked about the library expansion plan.
 
Annual library visits exceeded 132,000 and are expected to reach over 150,000 in the next 20 years. The library is over 120 years old and serves a growing cross-section of residents, including seniors, youth, business and families. It provides a public space and common ground at the heart of the Scarborough community.
 
With more digital resources and fewer books, one might think library usage might be declining, but the fact is that the library is more active than ever. “We continue to move from collections to connections” she explained. Two important measures of access to those resources are the number of computers with population served and the number of annual visits received at the library. The Scarborough Public Library surpasses its peers on both of the benchmarks.
 
Ranked against its Maine peer libraries, Scarborough ranks low for square feet of space per population served at 0.64. The average is 2.0. Northeast Harbor is the highest at 6.8.
 
The planning process began as part of the 2016 three -year Strategic Plan. A national recognized library space consultant, Anders Dahlgren, was hired last year. His expertise involves creating a library space planning guide that details the essential connection between a library’s service goals and its space needs. “The simple conclusion is that we need specific improvements to more appropriately serve the needs of our community” explains a FAQ sheet she handed out.
 
Information will be available at http://expansion.scarboroughlibrary.org