Woo Worcester!

We’ve been to the Worcester Public Library several times, and each time it gets better and better. The whole city is booming and blooming. It’s a really wonderful thing to see.

Back in June of 2019, Adam and I went to the ground breaking for an expansion of the Worcester Public Library. It was a warm summer's day, but it still saw more than 100 people come out to support their public library. Fast forward two years and we found ourselves again outside the library on a hot summer’s day. This time, for the ribbon cutting, and - wow - was it was fun!

There were more people this time than last and there was a palpable excitement as the afternoon’s program progressed. There were a few different parts of the event: a ribbon cutting for the new Franklin Street entrance, a second ribbon cutting for the new Arthur M. and Martha R. Pappas Children’s Center, a reception hosted by the Worcester Library Foundation, and tour of other renovations, expansions, and improvements to the library.

Things started outside the new Franklin Street entrance. The speakers were Mayor Joseph Petty, City Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson, City Manager Edward Augustus Jr., library board president Stephanie Pasha, library patron Fatou Niang, Worcester Library Foundation President Tim Lowe, Samuel Kenary, trustee of the Arthur M. and Martha R. Pappas Foundation, and Jason Homer, the library director. All expressed excitement, thanks and praise for the people and organizations that made the expansion possible.

Augustus, who has been a driving force behind the effort, reflected on the place of the library in the city. He proudly shared new Census data that put Worcester’s population at 206,000 people. Each year, the library sees between 600,000-700,000 visitors, a number that’s sure to grow as people see and experience the new space

Pasha also shared stats on increased library usage. For example, participation in adult programming was up by 45 percent over the past year. She also made the point of how good it was to work with a mayor, city council, and manager who “get it.”

Niang, who came to Worcester from Senegal in 2019, described how the library helped her overcome one of her biggest challenges: learning the US (rather than French) keyboard layout. She also shared her young daughter’s love of the library and how she told young friends in Senegal, “Here, kids go to the library!”  

Lowe talked about the project’s impact on the community with a special focus on the Children’s Center, which he described as “a place to launch a lot of dreams.” Kenary echoed that theme. He shared thoughts from Martha Papas, who was not able to attend in person. The library’s goal, in her words, is to inform, enlighten, and enrich and how it would help the children who used it to be active members of their communities. 

Homer was the final speaker of the very warm outdoor portion of the event. He read the crowd well and kept his remarks brief. The ribbon was then cut and we were ushered in to see all that had been accomplished.

Up a brightly painted staircase, we made our way to the third floor. Worcester Public Library Foundation President Christine Murray spoke first. She was followed by Cynthia Bermudez, the youth services coordinator, who was unable to be there in person but recorded a really fun welcome. Another ribbon was cut and we filed into the Children’s Center. What an amazing space! In the center is a colorful rocket that stands floor to ceiling. In a corner of the room is a castle. A computer area is available, as is a nice programming space. So well designed - short stack, color, lots of fun, people loved it.

Perhaps the most awesome is the Play Ellipse. This is a large open space with windows overlooking the street and park outside. It’s intended to support the cognitive development of children between 0-6 through storytime and learning through play. 

Homer had one final surprise up his sleeve. As we counted down, a curtain was pulled away to reveal the name of the space: The Edward M. Augustus Jr. Play Ellipse. It was a moving moment and a well-deserved recognition of the vision, commitment, and effort of Worcester's dedicated city manager.

Following the formal program, we attended a reception. Light hors d'oeuvres were served and it was a good opportunity to check in with folks. I was able to chat with R. Drayton Fair, principal at LLB Architects, who described a bit about the process of expanding the library during the pandemic. I had imagined that it would have made things easier, but it turns out that wasn’t the case. The challenges included securing building materials and the logistics of moving parts of the collection to make way for construction. While this is always a challenge, the original plan had been for the work to take place in stages over a longer period of time. The team was able to roll with things, and the end result is outstanding.

Ping Chen, the public services coordinator, announced that she would be taking people back down into the library to see the rest of the expansion. Needless to say, Adam and I were on it! 

The first stop was the new Hanover Teen Space. It’s a large room with lots of flexible space and different sections for different activities. There were plenty of desktops, a laptop station that dispensed computers, study spaces, snazzy furniture (including chairs to help deal with sensory challenges) and a wall of “artivism” highlighting some of the issues that mattered to teen patrons.

Next door is the Fletcher Family Innovation Center. Now this is a workspace! There are all sorts of cool technologies and tools for DIYers. There’s a 3D printer, a 3D scanner for capturing items so they can be rendered in 3D, a 3D recycler so printing filament can be recovered, a vinyl cutter, screen printing gear, two sewing machines, a system for recording podcasts, and another for making VR applications. The library also expanded its Library of Things collection to now include a sewing machine, a paper-shredded and 35 mobile hotspots.

There are four wheeled tables that can be moved and arranged to meet the needs of whatever group or activity. We saw a bunch of the Center’s output - screen-printed tote bags and 3D printed keychains, and they were pretty sweet. What was even better than the space or the equipment was the knowledge and enthusiasm of the library staff responsible for these resources. So awesome!

A new Digital Studio is just a few steps away. It includes workstations and tablets intended for different tasks. There are computers for using Adobe Creative Suite, one for digitizing slides and photographs, and another for converting VHS tapes - and even capturing stills from Super 8 film. Based on our travels and what we’ve seen and heard at other libraries, it’s safe to say this room will be seeing a lot of use!

There is more goodness crammed into this library than you can imagine. There’s a new computer lab, a new periodicals and newspaper area, multiple study and reading rooms, a new audiovisual area, an expanded New Americans Corner, an updated Talking Books Library, a sweet Friends bookstore, and much much more!

Walking through the library, it was easy to see how its space and services are tuned to the needs of the community. Worcester is a community that is growing and becoming more diverse and vibrant every day - and the city is fortunate to have a library like this. If you’ve never been to the Worcester Public Library - or haven’t been in some time - visit it. The library and the city are amazing. Woo Worcester!