Progress on the New Building

We are very happy with the progress on our new building. I know that things seem slow--but that is just because all the action is taking place behind the scenes. The architects are putting the finishing touches on the plans, engineers are studying the plans to make sure that the building is properly designed. The electrical engineers are making sure that the parking lot will be well lit--and dark sky compliant (lights point down, and don't shine in your eyes as you drive down the street--or in the neighbors windows). We have been using LEED standards to measure our building, without actually working on certification. The third party verification process is an expensive one, a cost we prefer not to incur. For more information on LEED Google LEED or US Green Building Council.
We are walking a fine line between sustainability and saving money. Our building will end up as a compromise between the two. Exactly where the line will fall will be worked out in the many meetings we are engaged in now.
All the committees, the staff, and the Board are committed, to getting this project right. This is a process that we engage in about once a century--no oftener, at least here. And with work, and skill, and luck, our descendants will still be talking about what a good job we did a century from now. In order for that to happen, the main thing we have been planning for is flexibility.
After all, who would have guessed, in 1900, when our present library opened, that computers, dvd's, books on cd, and downloadable books would even exist, let alone be a large part of the services we provide to the public. Of course, the services we provided in the early 20th century are still here--and still being used. We still provide books for children and adults, programs and story hours, reference service, historical documents, and places to have meetings. Some things have come and gone--records and tapes, 16 mm films and videos--replaced by the more modern formats. (The videos aren't totally gone yet, or the books on tape, but they're on their way out, making room for the music cd's, dvd's and books on cd and mp3cd--the newest format we stock.)
We don't know what will replace them--we are in a period of innovation that not only hasn't stopped--it hasn't even slowed down. The speed of change has increased to a point where librarians--along with everyone else, struggle to keep up. The only thing we know for sure, is that change is inevitable, and that it will move ever faster, until we reach some equilibrium not even guessed at yet.
That unknown, and unknowable, future is the one we plan for. All libraries are about preservation and access. We need to preserve our heritage, and provide access to it--two goals that are at the center of library service, and that are diametrically opposed to each other. It is not impossible to have both--merely difficult. These are the goals we plan for with this new building.