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Warsaw Community Library presents feasibility study documenting facility needs and increased usage
Summary
Library director Heather presented a feasibility study showing increased visits, circulation and program attendance, and detailed infrastructure needs after 30 years without major renovation. The library has advanced to schematic design and is working with bond counsel to model tax impacts.
Heather, director of the Warsaw Community Public Library, presented a recently completed feasibility study and summary to the commissioners, describing increased usage and significant deferred facility maintenance that the study recommends address through a comprehensive renovation.
Heather said more than 400 people participated in library engagement surveys and that the library's 2024 annual report showed 108,000 visits (a 15% increase) and circulation rates two to three times higher than peer libraries. "We have saved our cardholders almost $10,000,000," she said, summarizing the fiscal value of services. The study also documented a 41% increase in program attendance and a 166% increase in study-room usage after the library expanded from two to four study rooms.
The feasibility study identified a set of building-system problems: mechanical, electrical and plumbing equipment largely past typical service life, entry-sequence and accessibility problems, limited parking and constrained outdoor programming space, deteriorating interior finishes above the circulation desk and other deferred maintenance. Heather said staff and the library's facilities manager have kept systems running but that a comprehensive renovation would be more efficient and less disruptive than piecemeal repairs.
The library has hired an architecture firm for schematic design and is consulting bond counsel to analyze potential tax impacts if the board pursues a financing plan. Heather emphasized the current presentation sought information and planning direction; she did not request county funding at the meeting but invited commissioners to tour the facility.
