Director of Utica Public Library says library plans to offer more yoga classes, children’s programming and a Heritage Hub, a website that will allow patrons to find family history genealogy
By David L. Podos
Q: The last time I interviewed you was about two years ago. Since then, the library underwent a major construction project. Can you talk a little about that?
A: Sure. Our rear moat wall needed repair, as well as one of our former emergency exit stairwells, which was totally disintegrated. This caused a number of safety hazards and issues for our patrons as well as our staff. This project will make it easier for patrons to exit and enter the library, increases our green space, increases sidewalk space for people walking into the library and aesthetically it improves on safety and architectural elements. We also added two EV chargers in our parking lot for electrical vehicles as well as significantly improving the ground water drainage. The project is estimated to be concluded by May of this year.
Q: How much did this project cost?
A: The project cost was $900,000.
Q: Where did the funding come from to pay for the project?
A: We self-financed. The library received an estate gift when a former library board president passed away and left us approximately a quarter of the money, (more than $200,000) that we used toward the project. This money along with our investment portfolio and a number of donors, who were gracious enough to invest in this massive construction project, covered the costs.
Q: As the director, what are the benefits that the library offers to its patrons besides a resource of reading material?
A: So, for us, especially as we had such a rough winter, just the fact that many of our patrons had a refuge from the elements, that’s important. People have a place to go to where they can connect with others, read and or watch films, use our computers, etc. Our patrons can come in here to get warm. However, we do expect them to use our services — we do not allow people to come and sleep here. We are able to provide people a quiet and safe space, that in and of itself is good for someone’s overall health.
Q: Are there other services or programs that you offer that support the health of your patrons?
A: Absolutely. We have a fantastic yoga program. We provide six separate classes of yoga for all ages each month. Those yoga classes are given at different times of the day and different weeks to accommodate people’s schedules. We are going to look for additional funding so we can offer even more classes. The yoga classes are one of our most popular programs that we offer and the positive feedback back that we have received has been over the top.
Q: What’s on the horizon in new programs and services that you will be offering?
A: We are excited to announce that we will be launching an online data base that we will be previewing for the rest of this calendar year called Heritage Hub. It’s an additional family history genealogy website that searches for obituaries and other family information off of non-newspaper sites. This new service can be used here on site, as well as remotely. We are hoping that this new service will be operational for our patrons in April.
Q: Does a person have to be a member of the library to use it?
A: You will need to have a Utica Library card to use it remotely. However, anyone can come to the library and use our computers to access Heritage Hub regardless if you are a member or not.
Q: Anything else coming down the road that’s a new service?
A: We have a couple of things in the works that are geared towards children accessing science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We are hoping to launch that very soon and more information is forthcoming.
Q: How involved is the community in letting the library know their thoughts on what they would like to see in the way of services and programs?
A: Our community will often tell us what they are interested in and when they respond in a positive way to what we have to offer we obviously want to continue to grow and continue to bring those services, programs to the community that we serve.
More information on current as well as new and upcoming events, services and programming can be found at: www.uticapubliclibrary.org