Haddonfield wants library plan ready for any stimulus aid

Haddonfield is positioning its library to be "shovel-ready" for renovation or new construction in case federal economic stimulus money trickles down to public libraries.

The borough is sorting through 34 architectural bids to assess whether to renovate the 1919 building on Haddon Avenue, or tear it down and build a new one for about $8.3 million, as consultants recommend.

The final decision will be up to voters. In November, they approved a ballot question requiring a vote on any taxpayer expenditure for a library expansion.

Stimulus money has been designated for school - but not public - library construction, said Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association's Washington office. However, Gov. Corzine could divert state money after receiving discretionary federal funds, she said.

"The more ready we are, the more apt we are to be at the top of the list," said Ann Kearney, president of the Haddonfield Library board of trustees. Despite the downturn in the economy, she said, "it was our belief that we should keep plugging along."

The board is proceeding with private fund-raising, led by Nancy Weber of Oak Ridge Consultants of Haddonfield. Weber recently helped Haddonfield United Methodist Church raise the last $5 million of its $9 million capital campaign. Donations are up to about $1 million for the library, Mayor Tish Colombi said.

"We need to create a vision of what's going to happen inside the library," Weber said at a hearing Thursday. "Donors don't give to bricks and mortar."

About 50 residents at the informational hearing questioned consultants Leslie and Alan Burger of Library Development Solutions of Princeton Junction, N.J., about their recommendation to build a 22,355-square-foot library. Their report is available on the library's Web site, www.haddonfieldlibrary.org

Leslie Burger, director of the Princeton Library and former president of the American Library Association, showed examples of library design trends - open spaces, movable furniture, natural lighting, computer training rooms, and cafes with fireplaces - from Princeton, Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Santiago, Chile.

"You have the benefit of taking the best of any library you have seen," she said.

Commissioner Edward F. Borden Jr. said the borough should evaluate the building it has "before we move on to the next and possibly much more expensive step."

The borough's three commissioners expect to award a contract by April from architectural bids that range from $12,500 to $158,000, said Borough Administrator Sharon McCullough.

The architect will determine whether the historic building, which has a leaky roof and lacks handicapped-accessible restrooms, is structurally sound and can be brought in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. The architect also will price 7,500- and 15,000-square-foot expansions.

The architect also may look at alternate sites for a new building, such as the borough-owned land behind the Hadrosaurus statue near the PATCO High-Speed Line, McCullough said.

In 2003, after several years of discussion, Haddonfield rejected spending about $7.5 million for a library expansion exceeding 40,000 square feet.

"It was too large and too expensive," Colombi said. "We hope this time, if there's a reasonable plan and a good-faith effort raising money, it will be a deal-maker."