Fitchburg Plans to Expand Library; Plans Merger

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette is reporting that the Fitchburg Public Library has made plans that would nearly double the current size of the library, and it would also include the merger of the Public Library with the Fitchburg Law Library.

While there are no price estimates for the proposal, the project would increase the space of the current library from about 45,000 square feet to 80,910 feet. Of that total, the Fitchburg Law Library would pursue the possibility of renting 6,000 square feet for their own collection. Plans are still in the preliminary stages.

The Law Library is interested in such a move because of the increased exposure they would gain from being in the public library. Their current location – 84 Elm Street in the Superior Court – is relatively unused other than some court cases throughout the week. Such a move would also be the first of its kind that Massachusetts has seen.

Poor security and infrastructure (HVAC, electrical, plumbing, etc.) have plagued the building, and the current structure has received little work since it opened 50 years ago. While the plans are still a work in progress, the proposal would call for a larger children’s library, a space dedicated to teens, enlarging the amount of public meeting space, and building a new auditorium that would be more intimate as well (about 95 seats compared to the current 200 seat auditorium).

An analysis of the current facilities will be submitted to the Fitchburg Public Library board of trustees, and then will move on to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners to be reviewed.