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Page Memorial Library renovation nears next phase; town explores digitized archives
Summary
Staff reported significant interior progress at the Page Memorial Library and outlined remaining work (wainscoting replacement, ceiling, lighting, electrical, and finishes). The mayor promoted a PastPerfect digitization project to preserve town phone books and family albums for public access.
Town staff updated the board on the Page Memorial Library renovation at the April 13 work session, saying demolition and initial structural work are largely finished and that crews are progressing toward interior finish work.
“They're kinda getting close to the phase 1 initial kind of…we want to get a lot of this preliminary work for the facility completed by the end of this fiscal year,” staff said (S6). Presenters explained that original pine floors had been exposed and that certain wainscoting and ceiling materials are deteriorated and will need removal and replacement; staff estimated an additional roughly $35,000 to finish the next items of work beyond amounts already spent and committed.
The mayor urged creation of an archives and a small local-history room using the PastPerfect digitization system, describing donated material and examples the system can make searchable, including an Aberdeen phone book from 1957 and a 1975 phone book. He encouraged citizens to contribute photos and family albums for scanning so the material can be publicly searchable.
No final vote was requested on the renovation at the work session. Staff said they will itemize bids and bring a more detailed costing back to the board in approximately two weeks for further consideration.
Quotes: “They're getting close…we're gonna get a lot of this preliminary work for the facility completed by the end of this fiscal year,” a staff member said (S6). The mayor noted the value of the digitization project: “If somebody wants to come in and say, did my grandfather used to live…they can go over here and go all that PastPerfect and look up somebody's name,” (S1).
Next steps: staff will prepare a more detailed bid and cost breakdown and return to the board for action on remaining renovation work and for discussion of how the archives room will be operated and staffed.
