East Granby Public Library

Mary Louise Jensen, Building Consultant

On September 29, 2001, the new East Granby Public Library was dedicated. East Granby is located midway between Hartford, CT, and Springfield, MA, very near the Bradley International Airport. The area of the town is 17.6 square miles with a population of approximately 4,745. The main industries are manufacturing and quarrying.

The old library building, a split-level building, required patrons to go up 10 stairs to the first floor or down 10 stairs to the ground floor when they entered. The building was not handicapped accessible, was only 3,850 square feet, and could no longer meet the needs of the community.

The new library, an 11,320 square foot building, is located in a town government complex with the fire and police departments, community center, ambulance service, and town hall. One major design objective for the new library building was that the scale of the library should fit with the surrounding buildings. The library is a one-story brick building with dormers. The main focal point of the building is the entrance with portico and cupola. Some keys areas in the library are

• Quiet reading areas

• A separate children's room that has it own entrance off of the main entrance

• Exceptional painted art work on the walls in the children's room

• A children's program room off the children's room

• A larger meeting room that seats 54 located near the entrance and the children's room. The meeting room can be used when the library is closed, is near restrooms and has a kitchen and a storage area for the tables and chair

• A small conference room

• A new book area, located near the circulation desk, that is accented with the natural light from the windows and dormers

• A local history room

• Centralized staff offices and staff work area.

• A fenced in terrace that can be accessed from the children's and young adult areas

Barbara Joslin and Jim Glenn from Best and Joslin Architects were the architects The landscape architect was Henry Withers from CR3.

The funding for this project came from grants, fundraising, and town bonding. The total cost of the project was $2,604,724. The first two major funding sources were a major gift (by January 27, 1999, the gift was worth $800,000) and a $500,000 State Public Library Construction Grant. Later the town voted a sum of $950,000. To date the library has raised an additional $300,000 and is continuing to raise more funds.

For more information about the new library, check out East Granby Public Library's webpage.

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