Families, professors and local government officials gathered outside the Upland Public Library, celebrating plans for expansion with a groundbreaking ceremony on Aug. 31.
“With the new space, we can imagine even more ways the library will expand services and reach more people,” Shawn Sizemore, town council president, said.
The library’s remodel is the result of collaboration and collective action in Upland, he said.
Efforts have included the town of Upland and the Main Street Mile Initiative. Additionally, 40 community members participated in a library listening session that influenced the architectural plan.
Construction will begin in late October, Andrea Masvero, the executive director of 1846 Enterprises, said. The library’s exterior will have a smaller facade, but the interior will be double the current size.
“It will continue to be a one floor, one story building,” she said.
The library will reflect Upland’s history with a classical-style architecture look. Masvero said the renovation plans include two meeting rooms, a circulation desk, a children’s area, a mechanical room, restrooms and an outside patio.
She said the Main Street Mile Initiative wanted to fund a project prioritizing the local community.
“The library was just such a beloved part of town and community that it seemed like a good, logical place to start,” she said.
This summer’s reading program had 405 participants: nearly 250 kids, 60 teenagers and 100 adults, Ashley Tiberi, president of Upland Public Library Board of Trustees, said. Last summer, 143 visitors came to the library on the first day.
She said this year’s program increased 60 percent in one year, having 230 visitors and 208 sign-ups.
“We have a small footprint and a small budget, but we have an outsized impact in this community,” Tiberi said. “Many of you here have experienced the joy of the summer reading program — the prizes, the drawings and the weekly events that bring readers together to have fun.”
Over 50,000 resources circulate around the community each year, including books, games, movies and audiobooks. She said the library lends its 50,000 resources at the lowest rate.
The library is one of the most used libraries in Indiana on a per capita basis — a point of great pride, President Michael Lindsay said. The library is getting the space it deserves.
The renovations also mark an important moment in the life of Taylor University, he said. It is significant that the Main Street Mile Initiative’s first major building project was not on Taylor’s campus. Rather, the expansion will be a direct blessing to the local community.
He said the library is a tangible reminder of how to support friends and neighbors in Upland. A lesson he wants Taylor students to learn from.
“We want to be a blessing wherever the Lord leads us,” Lindsay said. “We try to help encourage and educate our students so that they can similarly be a blessing of the communities and the neighborhoods that the Lord leads them after graduation.”
Indiana State Representative Lori Goss-Reaves said Upland is being noticed at state level.
“Why?” Goss-Reaves said. “Because of your collaboration, your innovation and your ability to organize and capitalize on opportunities before you.”
The library is and will be a place for everyone, Tiberi said.
The Upland Public Library is for teens to read new and exciting stories, she said, dreaming about who they want to be in the world. The library is also for adults and seniors to gather for monthly book clubs or quiet time with friends.
To stay informed about the Upland Public Library’s renovation progress, sign-up for the library newsletter at:https://upland.lib.in.us/support-the-library/
