Alfred Box of Books Library

The Alfred Box of Books Library serves a population of just over 5,000, and is a leader in library services, annual visits, cardholders, and programming for children, teens and adults. Unfortunately, the size of our physical space limits the number of attendees at programs, and limits our collection size.  

In 2021, the library conducted strategic planning which included surveys, community focus groups, and one on one interviews.  Community members shared ways in which the library could better serve the community such as more books, a space for teens, a community meeting room that could be used for other local organizations as well as the library, and parking. 

Despite being a leader in circulation of library materials, our collection size ranks 9th of 17 libraries in Allegany County. The collection is at its largest with 12,341 physical volumes.  We cannot grow the collection anymore, and purchasing new books means aggressively weeding every year.  Much of the collection is not very accessible to those with mobility devices or physical limitations as shelves are too high or low, and shelving is narrow.  

Interior of the Box of Books

Attendance at programs the library ranks 11th of 17, simply due to attendance caps. Most adult programs have a 12-person limit.  Space for programming is also the children's section of the library, which limits accessibility to the collection when programs are in session. Parking is also a problem as there is no dedicated library parking.  This can be a hazard in winter for people attending programs navigating the sidewalks from municipal parking lots, especially for those with mobility devices.  

Program participants learn how to brush angora rabbits and spin wool. 

Children and teens attend a workshop by local author, Doogie Horner. 

We have begun to explore options for expansion in three ways:  

1.) Converting residential property into a new home for the library, 

2.) Expanding our current location with additions. 

3.) Exploring the use of a different property to build a new library. 

Each of these options has pros and cons, of course.  

While a building was offered to us as a gift to be converted into a library, we paid for architectural studies and conceptual designs to check the feasibility of such a project. In converting a space from residential to commercial, several codes go into effect for fireproofing, accessibility, and load bearing. The cost to convert this property into a library was estimated at over $3 million. 

Newly renovated historic home in Alfred. 

The current building the library occupies and surrounding land is owned by Alfred University. We have worked with our architecture firm on building conditions and conceptual designs of our current site.  Designs presented to the Board of Trustees include a 35% increase in collection size, dedicated multipurpose room for meetings and programs, young adult space, and a library dedicated parking lot.  These plans were presented to the Board of Trustees, who felt that these designs best reflected the current space, while creating a modern, accessible, third space that Alfred is in need of. The next step in this process is to share the plans with both Alfred University and the Village of Alfred. 

Lastly, we have worked with SUNY Alfred State's architecture department to create conceptual designs for a vacant lot for a new library build.  Students in a 3rd year design class presented ideas to Library Director Melanie Miller and President of the Board, Allison Snyder.  This allowed us to visualize a substantial library building in that location.  Working with the architecture department, students in the Spring semester will take on a longer design project to take into consideration the historic downtown district, and meet with library administration on current library operations as well as future growth. 

Library Director and President of the Board attend presentations by SUNY Alfred State architecture students. 

This fundraiser would allow us to continue to explore options working with our architecture firm and create savings so that when the time comes, we are able to pursue one of the options.  For New York State Construction Funds, the library must have 25% of the cost.  Creating a building fund that would allow us to purchase our current site from Alfred University or a vacant lot to build a new library is the first step in pursuing construction.  Creating a building fund will also allow us to continue working working with our architecture firm. 

We know that a renovated or new facility can help us increase our collection size, increase program attendance, and better serve our community by creating a true center of community engagement.