The Tufts Library, Weymouth, Massachusetts

The new Tufts Library.

It’s been months since Adam and I last visited a library, many long months made dreadful for so many reasons. We would typically visit several libraries every week but after March 11, we haven’t been to any - until last week. That was an amazing visit to the new Tufts Library in Weymouth, Mass. Gerhard Mullican, marketing manager at Tappe Architects, alerted us to its opening and we jumped at the opportunity to visit a library after these many long months!

And what a library it is!

There’s a simple façade on the front of the building, which gives way to a fresh and marvelous main entrance in the rear. The building overlooks a newly-renovated playground, a small amphitheater (built with granite facings recovered from the previous library), a patio, and a greenspace. It’s a nice setting that’s easy to enjoy from the outside and the inside too. 

The new playground and amphitheater.

There’s plenty of parking in front and beside the library. We had no trouble finding spaces and headed into the building. The first person we met was a greeter. Their job was to welcome visitors, ensure masks were worn, get names and telephone numbers for contact tracing if needed, provide name tag stickers with the time of entry (visits are limited to thirty minutes), and encourage a squirt of sanitizer. It took mere moments and was just the first of several things the library has done right in light of COVID.

The building can be thought of as three sections. The central atrium feels like the largest space, thanks to its wall of windows that reach from the floor to the ceiling three stories above. There will be a café area on this level, overlooking the patio and playground. New materials are also on this first level, as are the huge children’s section (more on that later), two meeting rooms, and a large community room. Amazing restrooms, too. 

New materials and the circulation desk.

One of the nice features of the library is that the meeting and community rooms can be used after hours (when safe to do so) by closing off the library with colorful glass dividers. The glass dividers, crafted with strips of colorful paper from magazines, are so attractive that I originally assumed they were pieces of art! A short set of stairs leads to a mezzanine level. Before going there, it’s worth noting the tiered seating area that is faced with locally-quarried Weymouth granite.

On the mezzanine level is a large staff work area for cataloging, repair, managing interlibrary loans, and other uses. Near the front door is a very cool piece of book art based on the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. A staircase leads up to the upper level. Beneath the stairs, there will be a water feature. Novel things like things make the library really fun to explore.

To Kill a Mockingbird book art.

On the top floor, whose ceiling still soars high above, are the adult collections, the teen room, local history, the archives, the digital media lab, what will be reading spaces, a ton of study/workrooms, and the quiet reading room.

Before we started our explorations in earnest, however, we wanted to meet up with Rob MacLean, the library’s director. We’d only expected to be able to say hello, but instead, we were given a warm welcome and tour of the library by Rob and Kristy Lockhart, the assistant director. 

The tour and discussion began with an acknowledgment of the ways COVID had impacted the plans for the library. The role of the greeter, the limits on attendance, the fact that rooms are closed and furniture has been put into storage (in the closed rooms, in fact). None of these current realities detracted from the fantastic work that was done to bring the library into being.

Speaking of furniture, the chairs and tables at the Tufts Library are simply amazing and varied. The fifty or so different styles include rockers, lounge chairs, straight back chairs, rotating chairs, gaming chairs, cubbies, and so many more. Much of the furniture includes power - always in demand at a public library. 

In the adult collection, Rob pointed out the motion-activated LED lighting and slightly-angled stacks. The result is the bright light illuminates all of the items. There are overhead lights that remain on, but the LEDs make such a huge difference (and consume so little power), it was pretty amazing to see - and a money saver.

The quiet room is in this section of the library and is beautiful. Sadly, it’s one of the spaces that is currently closed to the public due to COVID. When the room is open, it’s going to have a lot of fans - no phones, no laptops, no noise, just the quiet ticking of the very cool grandfather clock and artwork from the library’s collection.

The quiet room.

Beyond the quiet room, we saw the first of the library’s study rooms. While the old library had only two, the new Tufts has ten (more than that if you count the larger meeting rooms and local history room). We’ve seen a lot of study spaces in our travels, but these may be the most impressive so far. Comfortable furniture? Check. Fast wifi? Bingo, there, too. Multimedia collaboration screens? The screens are something else, they allow multiple people to share their computer screens, host multi-person video meetings, and more. The rooms are spacious, quiet, and just beg for someone to sit down and get some work done. Sadly, these too and closed due to COVID.

Small features abound in the library. For example, in the adult reference section, there are tables in gaps in the stacks that are designed for people wanting to browse large works or oversized craft books. In the future, there will be seating at the tables (which have power and lighting) but I’ll bet you can guess why they don’t at the moment . . .

Our next stop was the digital media lab. At the old Tufts, there were FOUR public computers. Here at the new Tufts, there are almost 50. The dozen in the digital media lab are higher-end systems with Adobe Creative Cloud and other editing tools and programs. This room, which is a stand-alone glass cube in the middle of the upper level, can be used for classes, with large screens on two walls so everyone can see without craning their necks. It also has full-length blinds that can help close off the space to limit distractions.

The teen/YA area is on this floor, too. It’s got walls made of two panes of double-glazed glass with a gap between them. Noise doesn’t get in, or out. Giving young people a place to be themselves without the admonition for quiet was a big part of the rationale for putting this space on the top floor. The teen librarian, Janet Gallagher, was only too happy to show us around the space, which had seen plenty of use on the library’s first day. It will only see more as more kids discover all it offers!

Cool cubby chairs in the teen/YA section.

There are group study rooms, public computers, amazing furniture, a program room that can be used for video gaming, whiteboard tabletops, a ton of crafting materials (everything but glitter glue - Janet is not down with the glitter glue), and a ton of other really nice features. Janet also does a lot of outreach through the schools and has great relationships around the town. The result is high connectivity and engagement with Weymouth’s teens and that’s pretty awesome.

The local history room and archive are also on this upper level. They are both currently closed to the public at the library due both to COVID and the lack of an archivist. Both rooms, however, are very nice. The history room, which, one presumes, will be open from time-to-time, features some nice items associated with the town, a letter from Abigail Adams, documents and artifacts associates with Maria Weston Chapman (an abolitionist and famous daughter of the town), and a soon-to-be installed indigenous canoe that was discovered in a pond in the town.

The archives are in terrific shape, and state of the art. One of the most unexpected parts of its holdings is the massive Harry C. Belcher Lepidoptera collection. While it isn’t viewable to the public at the library, you can find amazing high-resolution photos of the butterflies and insects at the Digital Commonwealth. Check it out.

A couple of mid-sized meeting rooms, DVDs and the periodicals area round out the top floor. It was here, also, that Rob pointed out some of the many features that harken back to Weymouth’s connection to the sea. For example, the HVAC vents look like portholes, large ceiling fans are reminiscent of a ship’s propellers, and the entire space gives the feeling of the interior of a ship’s hull. It’s quite nice.

From the top floor, we made our way down again to the ground floor to see the children’s section - or world, as Rob likes to describe it given its massive size. We don’t always spend a lot of time in kids’ sections, but are always amazed when we do. The thought and detail found in these spaces are special.

Action lighting in the children’s room.

The first thing we noticed when we entered were the zany LED lights in the ceiling, changing colors and flashing rainbows as an electrician experimented with the settings. Also of note were three small display cases, mounted in the walls, for kids’ collections to be displayed. They are like little dioramas right at eye-level for kids and ready to be discovered. This section also has its own computers (for the tween set) and a programming room with a washable floor and furniture. 

As we were getting close to the end of our time together, we paused in this room to talk about the planning and construction project. We were amazed to hear that it took only four years from inception to completion, an astonishing fact. Likewise that it was only 18 months from ground-breaking to ribbon-cutting. In our experience, this speed is unprecedented. Thankfully, the project has the strong support of the community, support we witnessed first hand as patrons made a point of telling Rob and Kristy how much they loved the new library.

People love the Tufts Library.

Leaving the library, we were so happy to have had the opportunity to see it as we did. Rob and Kristy were beyond generous with their time and it was more than evident how pleased they are with the new library. It’s a wonderful place, and once we can put COVID behind us we’ll visit again to see it in all its glory.