Community Brainstorming for Havre de Grace Library Begins

The next chapter of the Havre de Grace Library will be shaped by the community that uses it, and approximately 12 citizens and staff discussed space and functionalities they envision for the branch during a Sept. 4 meeting.

"The energy in that room was incredible," Mary Hastler, director of the Harford County Public Library, said of the community input meeting Thursday night.

Children were given coloring tools to create pictures of what they wanted to see for the library, which will expand from one to two stories and grow from 8,400 to 15,000 square feet.

Adults offered suggestions like outdoor seating, an interactive early literacy area, a film viewing room, larger meeting room and increased bandwidth during the two-hour brainstorming session in the Havre de Grace Activity Center, Hastler said.

The principal architects on the project, Rob Manns and Dave Woodward, facilitated the discussion and showed preliminary sketches.

"It's really just ideas at this point," Hastler said, emphasizing that nothing was set in stone. In fact, the project is not scheduled to break ground until fall 2014, with an 18-month construction period after that, she said.

In the next week, the architects will walk around the Promenade to get feedback from people about the library, Hastler said. Forms are available in each of the Harford County Public Library branches for suggestions about the Havre de Grace project. In addition, the library created a Facebook page where people can tune in for updates.

"If you have an idea or thought, just let us know," Hastler said. "We’ll have more meetings as we go through the year."   

Related Stories:
Expansion Ahead for Havre de Grace Library
HdG Library Wants Public Input on Expansion Plans