Community, staff weigh options as building shows its age
The Howland Public Library in Beacon is asking residents to weigh in on the future of its building, a beloved but aging former department store at 313 Main St.
The library moved to Main Street in 1976, after outgrowing its original 1872 building, which became the Howland Cultural Center. But the library's director, Gillian Murphy, said at a charrette on March 25 that the 15,000-square-foot structure, built in 1949 as Fishman's department store, is badly in need of repair.
The roof has been patched nearly a dozen times since Murphy was hired in 2023. The building lacks insulation, with haphazard heating and cooling systems struggling to keep patrons and staff comfortable. The brick exterior is crumbling, and the Main Street entrance is the only one that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Inside, there are no fire sprinklers and almost no natural lighting. The children's room is too small, Murphy said, and a nook by the entrance that functions as a teen space is hardly spacious.
Upgrades have been made from time to time, including last year, when interior walls were painted to brighten the place and the circulation desk was moved. But there's never been a comprehensive capital project.
"People have sought me out since the day I came here," said Murphy, who was director of the Butterfield Library in Cold Spring for 21 years, until 2021. "It was obvious that they didn't find this space friendly." She said the staff and nine-member library board agreed and decided to ask the community: "This is what we have — where do we go from here?"

Several options are on the table, but as architect Paul Mays told the audience of about 75 people on March 25, "pencil has not been put to paper on anything." Mays, who worked on additions and major renovations to libraries in Kingston and Saugerties, walked the audience through the possibilities.
The first option, repairs and maintenance, would be the least expensive and disruptive, although a new roof will cost at least $1 million, Murphy said. More involved renovations would add cost but provide more opportunities for energy efficiency.
Even more costly would be demolition and new construction, which would require the library to move to a temporary location; renovations of a building at another site; or new construction at another site.
Funding for a capital project would come from outside sources (e.g., state grants) and/or a public referendum. Voters in the Beacon City School District, which includes parts of Fishkill and the Town of Wappinger, vote on the library budget each year, but the annual spending plan only covers operating expenses.
Voters rejected a capital proposal in 2005, then voted down the operating budget for the next three years, but Murphy believes the support will be there this time. "It's a totally different community than it was 20 years ago," she said, noting that the library last year hired two new staff members to manage increased usership.
The March 25 charrette was the first in a series. Many people have already said the library should stay on Main Street, Murphy said. But other considerations — ample parking and green space — are virtually impossible in the current location.
There's no timeline for a decision, Mays said. The community-led process "isn't the fastest, but it's a deliberate and, I think, thorough one."

If the library were renovated, its footprint is deceptively large. It also owns 311 Main St., where its board meetings are held; 309 Main, where the Friends of the Howland Public Library operate Beacon Reads, a secondhand bookstore; and 307 Main, which needs work and is used for storage. Another back-of-building storage area could also be converted.
"I don't think people realize what a big space we have," Murphy said. "There are so many possibilities."
Mays asked community members to consider a few questions: What features and programs offered by the library are most important to ...

Howland Library Ponders Its Next Move