Otis — Earlier this year, the Otis Library announced that the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) approved the feasibility design for the new Otis Library building. Now, the town must vote to fund a portion of the building’s construction at its upcoming Annual Town Meeting in May in order for the project to move forward. Should the town vote in favor of this action, construction of the new library at the town-owned West Center Road site will begin in mid-2027.

The Otis Library was awarded a state grant by the MBLC that covers 75 percent of qualifying construction costs for the new building. If the library cannot fund the additional 25 percent, the grant is revoked and the project comes to a halt.

The Berkshire Edge spoke with Otis Library Director Stephanie Skinner, who has been spearheading project efforts since she was appointed director.

“It’s been a whirlwind. [The MBLC grant] is an amazing grant. It covers 75 percent of eligible costs which, if you know anything about grants, particularly capital grants, that is well above what you would expect. So, it’s pretty remarkable,” stated Skinner. “We are a tiny town, though, so there is also the need to raise additional money to offset the 25 percent the town has to throw in. So we do lots of fundraising and are looking for additional grants to go side-by-side with it.”

Why a new library?

The decision to construct a new library was based on the desire to better serve the Otis community and size constraints that currently place limitations on resource selection and community programming. There are also structural concerns at play.

“[The library is] not ADA compliant and we are an aging population in general,” Skinner explained. “We also have lots of little rooms instead of a single space, which makes it hard for staffing because you want to have line of sight to whoever is in the library. If somebody’s upstairs, we have no idea if they’re up there. You want to make sure you have a line of sight, especially if there are kids in the library. Also, the building itself was built in the 1940s and could use a refresh—but we can’t tear up the walls. Apparently, there’s asbestos in some of the areas.”

With a new building, Skinner is also hoping to meet the needs of a fluctuating population by providing a larger community space. “As a town, we go from 1,700 full-time residents to 10,000 to 14,000 in the summer, so we’ve been adding programming, meaning: lots of talks, meditations on Thursday morning, and we do cookbook club and bookclub—we do tons of different things.” The community room in the current library can only accommodate up to 25 people.

The new design

Of the new design, there was little Otis Library compromised on. In fact, the wish for a larger community room was “granted,” with a planned 750-square-foot community room. A lot of the design, however, was dictated by the requirements of MBLC.

“Pretty much everything inside is specified by the MBLC,” explained Skinner. “We have to have a children’s area, we really have to have a teen area, our adult stacks, we have to have X-amount of seating—these are all prescribed by people who have been librarians all their lives, so they really do know what is needed in the library. … Things like how many bathrooms and stuff like that, there is no question about those things. It’s how it all fits together and how to make it affordable that really is the driving force right now.”

The location of the new library, which was selected by the Otis Select Board, also opens up what the library will be able to do. “So the plan is to have walking paths all around [the property], and we’ll be able to do our story walks. Right now we have to use somebody else’s land for that,” said Skinner. “In general, we’ll be able to do a lot more with the outdoors.”

What happens if Otis votes “No”

The plans are approved, the site has been chosen, and it is up to the town to vote. Otis’s Annual Town Meeting is currently scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, from 7 to 10 p.m., per the town website.

“It’s going to cost something,” said Skinner. “At this point in time, there are other increased expenses that the town also has to vote on, so there’s a lot of uncertainty. We are applying for grants left, right, and center and raising money. We’re doing our best to offset it. ”

Should the town of Otis vote against appropriating the remaining costs to fund the new library, the MBLC grant effectively “goes away.” The Otis Library will still be operational, but the town will not get the new library, as proposed. “But that also means that at some point, [the town] will need to begin investing in the current building,” added Skinner.

As residents prepare for Town Meeting, Skinner asks them to consider the library’s role in the future of Otis. “We are the heart of the town. We are a place that welcomes everybody, and you do not have to pay anything for anything. You walk in this door and you can read anything or work on a computer all for free. There is no place else in town where you can do that. The second thing,” Skinner continued, “is that [a library] is a value increase for the town.”

For more information on the Otis Library project, or to view past meetings and presentations, please visit the library’s website.