FALLS VILLAGE — Patrons of the David M. Hunt Library gathered Saturday, July 25, to help decide how a $10,000 grant from the American Library Association should be spent, with automatic entrance doors emerging as a leading proposal.
The grant is part of an ALA program, “Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities,” that offers grants to small and rural libraries to increase the accessibility of facilities, services, and programs to better serve people with disabilities.
The grant requires recipients to hold at least one community conversation before the funds are used. During the discussion, Library Director Meg Sher proposed installing automatic door-opening buttons at the library’s main entrance. She said the entrance’s two separate doors, with a small vestibule between them, can be difficult for patrons using wheelchairs, walkers or canes to navigate.
“I’ve watched people struggle with the doors for 13 years,” Sher said.
Her proposal would add one automatic door-opening button outside the entrance and another inside the vestibule, allowing patrons to open each door without assistance.
Sher said the improvements would benefit not only people with mobility challenges, but also parents pushing strollers and delivery drivers bringing boxes of books into the library.
Ellery “Woods” Sinclair, a library patron who uses a wheelchair, asked whether there was enough demand to justify the project.
“I think so,” Sher replied. “The median age in town is getting older, and I see more patrons who need assistance.”
Other ideas discussed during the meeting included purchasing shopping baskets to make it easier for patrons to carry books while browsing, and adding display shelving to better showcase library materials.
Sher emphasized that installing an elevator is not under consideration.
“We’re not talking about an elevator,” she said, noting that such a project would cost far more than the grant and would require a substantial fundraising campaign.
No decisions were made during the meeting. Sher said her next step is to seek cost estimates for the proposed automatic doors by consulting Salisbury Comptroller Joe Cleaveland about a similar project completed at the Grove building in Lakeville.
