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home | site map | contact us New Library Building Project > Project Background PUBLIC REQUESTS LARGER LIBRARY BUILDING In 2002, the Dexter District Library began a series of public forums and workshops to get feedback from citizens regarding Library services. The Library held over two dozen focus groups and convened a committee of citizens, Library Board members and staff to refine the Library’s mission and goals. The Library received feedback from over 200 individuals. Throughout this process, citizens ranked the need for a larger building as the Library’s top priority. Further input from the community regarding the ideal location focused the Library’s attention on sites within the Village. The Library serves the same geographic area as the Dexter School District - over 85 square miles encompassing not only the Village of Dexter, but substantial portions of all the surrounding townships. Additional community input revealed that no matter where individuals lived in the Library’s service area, citizens felt the best location for an expanded Library was the Village Central Business District. After a lengthy negotiation process, the Library was able to secure options to purchase two Alpine Street properties. These options allow the Library to purchase the properties should the ballot issues be approved by the voters. LOCATION The proposed location for a new Library is Alpine Street in downtown Dexter. The parcels are located at 3249 and 3269 Alpine Street. The proposed Library building would overlook Warrior Creek Park and the Mill Creek bridge. The location is within easy walking distance of downtown shops, banks and restaurants, a feature most requested by citizens. The options the Library has negotiated will expire in June 2006. Until that time, the Library is certain of the land cost. BUILDING During the last ten years, the number of community members using the Library has grown dramatically. The Dexter District Library is now among the top 10% of busiest libraries in the State of Michigan. The Library’s collections have also grown considerably over this same period. The rapid growth in the number of items the Library owns, the number of people who visit the Library daily and the volume of material the Library circulates has placed a severe strain on the current building. The Library Board has worked with several space planning consultants and architects to determine a suitable sized expansion. The Alpine Street plan calls for a building of 25,000 square feet. This falls at the conservative end of consultant recommendations. The building will be two stories, will alleviate current building constraints and provide room to grow for a 15-20 year period. The site will also provide improved parking and accommodate a future expansion, should that be necessary. CRITICAL BUILDING CONSTRAINTS The Library’s current building faces multiple constraints: Insufficient room to house new books and other materials added to the collection Narrow aisle that don't facilitate browsing, especially for children, seniors and people with disabilities Extremely limited study space Inability to segregate quiet areas from public service areas Limited capacity for programming

Dexter District Library, 8040 Fourth Street, Dexter, MI 48130 Hours: Mon-Fri: 9 am - 9 pm   |   Sat: 9 am - 5 pm   |   Sun: 1 pm - 5 pm Phone: 734-426-4477   |   Fax: 734-426-1217 Created: 5 January 2007 / Last Updated: 12 February 2007 URL: http://www.dexter.lib.mi.us/newbuilding/background.html Comments About This Site? Send e-mail to Allison Brueckner, Information Architecture and Web design services provided by cAliCo Information Consulting Web hosting services provided by the Huron Valley Community Network Copyright © 2007-08, Dexter District Library, Dexter, MI, USA. All Rights Reserved.