Adams County Library – Fairfield, PA
The new Branch Library’s circulation usage is up 500%, even though the square footage is only 10% more than the library’s previous location. The library can now support the needs of their patrons with new computers conference rooms, and access to new large wall mounted monitor for small group meetings, education seminars or business needs.
In 2013, plans began for a new municipal building in Carroll Valley that would be located directly across from Ski Liberty Resort. This space was a fantastic opportunity for an expanded library space in a better location. The Fairfield Library space was undersized and its location was on a small residential street, not near many businesses. The area did not have much synergy and the library’s readership was at low levels.
This new potential dynamic location offered the Library several modern amenities which were not available at its current location. The Adams County Library System anticipated being able to expand its program offerings and doubling the collection from 8,000 to 16,000 along with many other additional services to the community.
Our firm also assisted in the submission of a $1 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) Grant which was awarded to Carroll Valley’s project in October 2016. Having the library in the facility assisted the project to get a Grant focused on economic, cultural, civic, recreational, and historical improvement projects community.
The Carrol Valley Library is now the 6th branch of the Adams County Library, complete with a children’s section, new reads, magazines, audio CD’s, DVD’s computers and more. Weekly reading programs and numerous activities have been held since it opened in March. In fact, at the June 13th Borough Council Meeting, Beth Cool the Financial Administrator for Adams County Library System, stated that “business is up 15% since the March 1st opening.” She stated that 101 new library cards have been issues and 407 existing cards have been renewed or updated”.