Thursday, May 22, 2025
The Baldwin Public Library continues to undergo a major facelift, with the high-tech redesign of the second floor beginning last month, library officials said.
The second floor has been gutted and new areas are being framed, marking the first phase of the $11.6 million renovation project, which overall began in January. The entire project is expected to be completed in about two years.
According to the design plan, available at BaldwinPL.org, the second floor is the primary focus of the first phase. Planned features include a teens area, podcast and video recording room, a community room, a business center and individual study rooms. In addition, a large, previously unused space will be converted into a recording studio.
The design was developed following a community survey conducted in February 2023. Based on the feedback, library administrators and Melville-based H2M Architects + Engineers created preliminary plans for renovations to the first and second floors. The project was approved in a public referendum in May 2023 with a 926-361 vote.
“These were the top priorities identified by the community through surveys and focus groups,” Elizabeth Olesh, the library’s director, said in an email to the Herald.
Most recently in the community, the Baldwin High School @ Shubert — a non-traditional secondary school focusing on career and technical education — introduced a state-of-the-art studio, offering Baldwin School District students access to a high-quality, industry-standard resource.
“The recording studio will include a green screen and recording equipment,” Olesh said of the library’s plans for the second floor. “Collaborative spaces that allow people to create are increasingly important in public libraries. Podcasts and videos enable people to share their thoughts with the world.”
A recording studio for a public library wouldn’t be a first, as the Port Washington Public Library offers the space for creating sound recordings, podcasts or holding Zoom video meetings.
Megan Barbari, a technology librarian, spoke with the Herald about how she has seen the space being used. She said high school students have benefited from the space by using it not only to create podcasts, but also as a meeting area and for projects on the iMac.
“A lot of people use it for video editing,” she said. “People have recorded music in there, edited their podcasts, and used it to make TikTok videos.”
Barbari recommended that Baldwin library staff provide clearer communication about how to use the equipment and software services, such as Audacity, an audio editing and recording app, to help patrons make the most of the room.
As part of the first phase, Baldwin library’s upper level was closed to the public. The fiction collection and public computers were relocated downstairs, but the nonfiction section remains accessible.
To finance the project’s 15-year bond, the Baldwin homeowner is expected to pay an average of $98 per year, or just over $8 per month. An additional $1.3 million in federal funds will come from a $15 million Community Project Funding grant that former U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito secured last April.
