46 Mount Pleasant Area In Need of Redevelopment Study Resolution #19-01

indicated how the function of libraries in an increasingly digital world has changed. Libraries now serve an essential role in offering digital services to people that cannot access them elsewhere. One of the report’s conclusions is that “a library’s ability to provide these services is closely related to the quality of its infrastructure.” The faulty arrangement, obsolete layout and functional obsolescence of building systems and equipment in the West Orange library hinder the facility’s ability to provide these services. As noted in the HGA report “without substantial upgrades or reconfiguration, the physical constraints of the building prevent the library from offering the full range of modern tools and programs that promote digital inclusion and provide the services that modern libraries seek to offer the communities they serve.” Among the physical constraints are: the main library floor has but one small meeting room and an undersized teen area; the ground floor meeting room is not well positioned to host programs due to its distance from staff and physical separation from the main public portion of the library; and the age of the structure limits the library’s ability to provide additional computers, charging stations and other multi- media offerings. . The West Orange Public Library Strategic Plan 2016-2019 attached to the HGA Report resulted from a planning process that included patron surveys and assistance of an outside consultant. The discussion of the facility in the Plan indicated that the library space is not sufficient to provide for the new demands, which include additional programming space, meeting rooms, training classes, upgrades to electric and technology needs including charging stations, adequate seating and an overall modernization of the main floor.