More than a decade ago, stakeholders for the Kennett library recognized that the well-used Kennett Square institution had outgrown its space, but the path to building a new facility has proven daunting.
Among the obstacles, the library board became a revolving door; Pocopson Township, one of the eight municipalities the library serves, stopped its financial support; Kennett Township, the library’s biggest funder, flirted with withholding payment; and a name change from the Bayard Taylor Library to the Kennett Public Library rankled many longtime supporters.
Amid these roiling tensions, circulation at the library increased, and the public made it clear that the library is valued. A new library board backed off an unpopular plan to relocate from the 200 block of East State Street to a new facility on Waywood Road in Kennett Township – property the library already owns. Instead, the board solicited an appraisal in preparation for selling the Waywood Road site and is pursuing a plan to stay in the borough by acquiring the Weinstein property at the intersection of East State and South Willow Streets.
The library board also changed another practice that had been criticized: the selection of board members. In the past, the library board maintained that only municipalities that imposed a dedicated tax, as Kennett and East Marlborough did, or contributed funds based on a “fair share” calculation, would be eligible for a representative on the library board.
Under the recent revision, municipalities can select one representative automatically; a second will depend on whether the municipality meets the fair-share formula, based on factors such as the number of library card users.
Despite the changes, skepticism has persisted, fueled in part by some rancorous exchanges between members of the library board, township officials, and the public over the past few months.
A feasibility study conducted this past summer by MacIntyre Associates revealed that many potential donors lacked faith in the library’s leadership, a factor they identified as adversely affecting their willingness to contribute to a capital campaign for a new library. Some even called for the ouster of Susan Mackey-Kallis, the library board’s president, according to the report that accompanied the study.
This week, library patrons will have two opportunities to make their voices heard. The library serves residents in the Borough of Kennett Square and seven townships: East Marlborough, Kennett, Newlin, New Garden, Pennsbury, Pocopson, and West Marlborough.
On Tuesday, Nov. 17, the Kennett Public Library Board of Trustees will meet at the library at 7 p.m. In addition to a presentation of the library’s new website, the agenda includes a discussion of the Library Task Force, an idea initially broached by Kennett Square Mayor Matt Fetick that has become another source of dissent.
In September, both Kennett Square and Kennett Township voted to create the group, and they have extended invitations to the other municipalities. Explaining the group’s purpose, Collis Townsend, a former library board member from Kennett Township, told the library board that the group hopes to help resolve the board’s credibility problem and reassure the community that it’s being represented.
While some members of the board have welcomed the assistance, others have labeled it an unnecessary intrusion. Members of the public who would like to weigh in can attend the group’s first meeting, which will be held at the Kennett Township building on Thursday, Nov. 19, from 5 to 6:45 p.m.
The Library Task Force (LTF) says its mission is to help the community come together around building a new library, serving as a conduit for dialogue about how best to meet the library’s needs and offering residents a venue for participating in the library development process.
To accomplish this, the LTF says it plans to create unified support and vision for the future of the library, establish financial transparency, create and formalize professional communication channels, and assist the library in determining the appropriate location for a new library and seeing it through to completion. It hopes to have one representative from each of the participating municipalities and one representative from the Kennett Public Library Board of Trustees.
In the meantime, area residents should mark their calendars for Tuesday and Thursday evenings this week. Members of both the LTF and the library board say they are hoping the public will get more involved. The addition of the LTF offers another venue for providing input, essentially doubling the public’s ability to express its views on the library’s future.
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