Canton Public Library   

Building Renovation Project

In 1902, the great Canton philanthropist Augustus Hemenway donated the land and building we know today as the Canton Public Library, one of his most enduring gifts to the people of Canton.  Hemenway personally supervised the design and construction of this building.  This muscular building of marble floors and vaulted ceilings impressed residents, and a soaring domed vestibule topped in bright copper crowned a jewel for this community. Hemenway’s library remained largely unchanged until 1962 when a substantial addition nearly doubled its size. 

Over the last forty years, changes in population, technology, and public interest have tested the building meant once to house only books.  Hemenway’s small community of 5,000 has now grown to a population of over 20,000 people.  Sixty percent of the residents have library cards and the demands on the current facility are great.  To respond to the changing needs of this community, the Library Director and Board of Trustees began developing a building expansion plan in 1998.  The style of the addition will remain sympathetic to the existing building, while providing for technological advancements, full accessibility and new spaces to meet the needs of a modern program of service.

A three-level design has been developed, which will balance and maintain the scale of the original building.  The new site plan greatly expands the parking, bringing it further into the site and creating new accessible routes to entrances.  The proposed architectural design expands the existing building towards the rear.  Although the original front entrance is retained the design centers on a new entrance arcade at the south side of the building, incorporating a ramp to the accessible main entrance.  Beyond the arcade is the new Research Room, which is placed at an angle to the original building.  The parking wraps around this wing and slopes down the back of the site to provide an accessible entrance to the Junior Library on the ground floor.  Book stacks, Young Adults, com- puter services, and staff areas comprise the balance of the addition on the first and second floors; the ground floor of the addition houses the Community Room and related facilities.  The original reading rooms will be restored as quiet reading areas. 

The design allows the meeting room facilities to be used at times when the rest of the building is closed.  Adjacent to the Meeting Room is the interior entrance to the Junior Library, which occupies the southwest corner of the building and is visible from the parking areas. 

Like the original building, the exterior is finished in brick, limestone, and copper roofs to harmonize with the original library.  The roof forms echo those of the old building, with the massing and details developed to preserve the position of the original library as the centerpiece of the composition. 

Energy efficiency is achieved throughout the building.  Schematic design has been developed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board.
  

FEATURES OF A CONNECTED LIBRARY COMPUTERS The wired and connected world of the new millennium is transforming the way we gather and interpret information.  The library project will provide quiet space and computer carrels for up to 40 users. CONNECTIVITY Whether it is the WWW or the OCLN the speed and access to the information resources is critical.  Buildings designed even 10 years ago are sometimes inadequate for today’s technology.  The new building will meet the challenges of  an interconnected world head on.  Lighting, power, flexibility and ergonomics are all part of the equation that will make this space a success.

A MODEL LIBRARY The award-winning architectural firm of Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann Associates has extensive experience designing and building libraries in Massachusetts communities, including Bridgewater, Brockton, Malden, Medfield, Springfield, Swampscott and Wrentham.  Each of these projects has been awarded a State Library Construction Program grant. For expanded views of the model and the Architect's Executive Summary Click Here

The expanded library is designed to provide the spatial flexibility necessary to anticipate the needs of a growing community and dynamically changing technology.  The plan addresses the many and various ways that people use the Library both as individuals and in groups.  Space for community events will be an important element of the expanded building.  A fully accessible 144-seat Community Room will enable programs to be presented for the first time to popular-sized audiences.  A soundproof divider will double the number of meetings that can run simultaneously.  A Conference Room and small study rooms will further relieve the lack of meeting and function space town-wide.  All town clubs, organizations, committees and individuals will be welcome to use these rooms for personal study or small group meetings.

Teens will have space to call their own with casual areas acoustically separate from those used for quiet study and adult reading.  A Homework Center will provide access to computer stations for research and curricular assignments.  Staff will be available in this area during after-school hours. 

A New Children’s Room
A space for Dr. Seuss

For the past 35 years, the Canton Public Library Children’s Room has been the first stop for children learning how to read.  It is here that they meet Captain Hook, Nancy Drew, Horton, Gulliver, Pippi and   Stuart Little.  The Children’s Room is a place to travel to far off places like Never Never Land, Treasure Island and Sesame Street.  Kids have special needs    in a library, consider the size of the furniture, the height of the shelves, and even a place for a puppet theatre.  The new home of the Children’s Room will have its own access, plenty of play space, and an acclaimed design.  It will be a very special place for Canton’s children.