The public libraries in Concord and Bow are never happy to sit back and rest on their laurels.
We know these public institutions are constantly looking for new and exciting ways to provide the most and best services for their respective (and often overlapping) communities. Usually this means adding or expanding programming or items in the library.
But in this case, Concord Public Library and Baker Free Library in Bow have gone the route of improving their buildings.
In Concord, it was time for the basement auditorium to get some modern touches.
“It was in dire need,” said Library Director Todd Fabian.
The highlights of the made-over room include new carpeting, fresh paint, new lighting and some technological additions and upgrades.
So what kinds of techie upgrades, you ask?
“We put in a new 4K HD movie screen,” Fabian said. “We put in a new projector, ceiling-mounted. And the last piece of this, which is not going to be done for a little while, is we’re adding a receiver and hookups in the back of the room.”
The idea behind this, he said, is to really improve the sound quality throughout the entire room – when it gets packed for big programs, it can be hard to hear in the back with the old format of speakers only up front.
“We used to have the projector in the middle of the room with wires running all over the place – it was just a mess,” Fabian said. “It’s just a much safer, up-to-date feel for that.”
The work was done by the General Services Department, and it wrapped up at the end of March.
Now the room is back open for business, and lookin’ good, too.
The Baker Free Library underwent a similar makeover of its basement, although this project was more involved.
“We have over 5,000 more square feet to offer the public,” said Library Director Lori Fisher.
In this new space, there’s a cafe-style common area where you can meet others around tables or comfortable chairs and get yourself a cup of tea. There is also a large modern conference room wired for high-end meetings, quiet and more private tutoring rooms, and a place for the Heritage Commission’s historic pieces.
In other words, they haven’t added a single book or computer, just a lot more communal meeting space.
“It used to be just a basement, and it looks pretty different now,” Fisher said.
The latest project – Phase 2 of 2 – created a 90-person meeting room (underwritten by Merrimack County Savings Bank), added public bathrooms downstairs and created the Rotary Club of Bow Community Space.
Any Bow resident can use the Rotary Club space any time, but the MCSB room must be reserved in advance.
The funding was split between the town and private donations – about $300,000 each for a total project cost of about $600,000. It took about four years for the library to raise that $300 grand, Fisher said, but they pulled it off.
And now all of you (providing you live in Bow, that is) get to reap the rewards.
The space opened to the public March 1, and Fisher said there has been a definite uptick in foot traffic since then. Feel free to add to that traffic yourself by visiting Baker Free Library at 509 South St., Bow.
