Library to add space to further expand minds

In the course of a decade, the Lakeview Public Library has grown into much more than just a place to borrow books: It has become a community center of sorts, where children come after school for tutoring and activities and residents come throughout the week for a variety of workshops and programs.

The number of people using the library has grown so much, in fact, that it has necessitated expansion. The library’s Board of Trustees is in the early stages of preparing a request for proposals to develop parts of the three-story building where it is housed and which was once the Woodfield Road School. The library board purchased the building from the Malverne Union Free School District in the 1980s, and renovated and opened it as a library in 2002.

“The Lakeview library has truly grown into its intended uses, not just as a reservoir for learning, but also the hub of the community,” said library board President Michael Alexander. “Our current programs … have grown beyond our walls. The renovation of existing unfinished space will allow us an additional … 7,000 square feet to grow our homework help, after-school programs and complement those with additional meeting rooms, quiet study, computer lab and classes, etcetera.”

As it stands, the library uses the building’s entire first floor and about a third of its second floor — a total of about 13,000 square feet. The expansion would develop the remainder of the second floor to accommodate the facility’s rapidly growing use by the community. Existing programming would be expanded, and amenities would be added to better serve residents, according to Alexander.

The board received approval from the Town of Hempstead about a month ago to renovate the rest of the second floor. It plans to spend about $450,000 on the renovation — money it has reserved in a capital fund over the past few years — and is preparing for the bidding process.

The additional space, which would increase the usable portion of the library to about 22,000 square feet, would house study stalls, classrooms and a variety of multi-purpose rooms that could be used for entertainment, meetings and videoconferencing, according to Ruby Boykins, the librarian in charge. Boykins said that the library needs to expand because it is constantly bustling: There are at least four community groups that regularly use the facility, and some 10 to 15 tutors working with children there each day. Patrons are constantly milling about the facility, taking part in the dozens of programs held there morning, noon and night, Boykins said, adding that the library checks out some 2,000 books, magazines, CDs and DVDs every day.

The limitations of the current space allotted to children’s after-school programs and the computer lab are among the primary reasons for expansion. The Homework Help and Boys and Girls Club use the three finished classrooms on the second floor, but have outgrown them, according to Alexander. And Boykins said that the computer lab is in high demand but space is in short supply.

In her three years at the library, Boykins has seen firsthand the changing dynamics of the patrons. “When I first came here, I was very impressed with the size of the building and how beautiful the building was, and I was very surprised at how quiet it was,” she said. But it is quiet no longer. “I love what I see now,” Boykins added. “I love the fact that we’re seeing families coming in. I love the fact that the library is constantly busy, and it’s not just because of our computers.”

Part of the reason the library has become a community hub, she said, is because there are no other after-school or boys’ and girls’ programs available in the area. This has become clear to board trustees and librarians over the years, and they have taken steps to accommodate the need.

“I feel that [with] the amount of taxes people pay, we’re obligated to give them the best service,” Boykins said. “I feel great about what we’ve accomplished … and I know we’re going to do even more in the next couple of years.”

The Woodfield Road building has historical significance: Its unfinished sections are testament to the conflicts over civil rights that rocked Malverne and Lakeview in the 1960s. Asked how the board plans to preserve that history in the face of renovation, Alexander said that the history will live on regardless of the building’s condition.

“As the renovation is really just an ‘uplift’ to the space, the history of the building will always be known in the community,” he recently told the Herald. “Our intent is to not only display the objects that speak to the history of the building … but to also capture video [and] recorded history of the Lakeview community from senior residents.”

For more information about the library’s resources and programs, visit nassaulibrary.org/lakeview. Check the Herald for updates on the renovation process.