Danvers trustees advance signage project but hear strong safety concerns; police, fire to be invited for review

Trustees of the Town of Danvers Library received a lengthy update on a planned wayfinding and signage project and spent an extended portion of the meeting discussing safety and emergency preparedness in the library building.

A library official said the signage project remains in progress and described it as a comprehensive effort to add room-identification and directional signage throughout the building. "They come and they do a site visit and then they make recommendations of, like, where to put signs," the speaker said, describing vendor practice.

Several trustees expressed concern that signage alone might not solve emergency wayfinding problems. One trustee said the topic had been discussed for years and urged expedited action: "I just can't stress enough that I would say this has been going on to 8 years. At least 8 years." Another trustee asked whether emergency lights and exit signs are tested regularly; staff replied that fire-system testing and security checks had been done recently after a change in security vendors.

Trustees discussed practical constraints, such as the challenge of ensuring a sign is visible to someone calling from between stacks or in an open-reading space. A trustee explained that the building's second and third floors are largely open and that some spaces are locked to the public; she said, "If somebody called the police from the Second Floor, they can just say I'm on the Second Floor. They're not gonna — there’s not really hidden areas." Another trustee disagreed on how visible signs would be in a high-stress situation and suggested additional measures such as giving staff rechargeable flashlights at desks; staff said flashlights are already provided at every desk.

After discussing emergency action plans and whether those plans had been reviewed by public safety, trustees committed to continuing the signage procurement and noted they would invite the police chief and fire chief to brief the board on safety and emergency preparedness from their perspective. "The police chief and the fire chief might wanna come out and talk about safety from their perspective," one trustee said.

Staff said the signage vendor will produce mock-ups superimposed on photos of building facades and internal spaces, then provide quotes for production and installation; trustees noted the manufacturing and installation process takes additional time and estimated completion could be by the end of summer but no firm timeline was set.

Ending: Trustees reaffirmed that the signage project is in progress, agreed to seek public-safety review of the emergency action plan, and will continue vendor coordination for design, quotes and installation.