The Tale of Two Libraries

In 1994, New Woodstock Library did not have a permanent home of its own. The Library operated out of a rented building which provided okay, but not really adequate space. In the center of the hamlet of New Woodstock was a former church building. This structure, which had been originally built in the 1830’s, had now been abandoned for a number of years. The building was slowly deteriorating due to neglect and a lack of purpose within the community. The Town saw a need for something to be done about this building, which led them to call Teitsch-Kent-Fay Architects, P.C.. Our team prepared a design that filled the old church building with the library functions. The resulting project gave the library the space they needed to fulfill their mission and rescued the old building from neglect.

At around the same time that our team was working on a solution for New Woodstock, Teitsch-Kent-Fay Architects, P.C. was contacted by Cazenovia Public Library. The Library was housed in a 1830 building which had been donated by Robert J Hubbard. This building was originally built as a 19th century house that had been converted in the 1890’s to accommodate the library collection. By the time Bob Kent and Dan Fay had a chance to walk through in 1993 the old building was bulging at the seams. Books were shelved everywhere, including within the old fireplaces. The weight of all the books, computers, etc. was putting a lot of stress on the more than 100 year old floor structure. Electrical cords were run somewhat haphazardly through the historic fabric of the 19th century house. Teitsch-Kent-Fay Architects, P.C. designed an addition that more than doubled the size of the original library. This allowed the collection as well as most of the technology to be relocated to a new, purpose-built addition, while allowing the old building to “quiet-down” and be used for reading rooms, small meeting spaces, and museum collections.

We often refer to these two projects together because while they had opposite problems, one building suffering the effects of neglect and the other suffering from overuse, the solution they were seeking was the same. Both needed a sort of Goldilocks solution of “Just Right”: a facility whose physical spaces match the programmatic needs of the organization.

Both projects were very successful. One of the nicest compliments we got for New Woodstock Free Library was from a couple who had been married in the building when it had been a church. While visiting the library they commented on what a wonderful new use the library was for the building, maintaining the beauty of the original church while providing a vital contribution to the community. Both New Woodstock and Cazenovia libraries have continued to grow, and we have continued to help both over the years, assisting with an expansion project at New Woodstock several years ago, and we are currently working with Cazenovia to reprogram some of their spaces to better serve the current needs.