New Canfield library plans unveiled

By kalea hall

khall@vindy.com

canfield

It will be a place for the community to gather.

It will have a “domestic” look with a friendly feel to it.

It will be the new $4 million, 18,135-square-foot Canfield Library on West Main Street to replace the current 5,106-square-foot library. Architectural plans for the project were presented to the library board of trustees at Austintown Library on Thursday and to the public at the Ursuline Motherhouse in Canfield.

“What Canfield is looking for is really something to reactivate that part of the town,” said Heidi Daniel, director of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County.

For more than a decade, the library trustees have entertained the idea of building a new facility in Canfield to replace the small library built in 1969 that offered little space for group gatherings. Efforts were made to reach out to the community to see what residents wanted in their library.

“We are hoping to break ground in the late summer or early fall,” said Janet Lowe, public-relations director for the public library.

Ron Faniro is the architect on the project who also worked on the Tri-Lakes Library in North Jackson and the Newport Library. He explained to the trustees that he wanted to create a building that fit in with the surrounding environment, which is mainly residential. He identified the Village Green as the “hallowed center” of the community and wanted to use that as part of the library structure by adding a “library green” to the landscape around the structure that can be used for small concerts.

The community input received suggested a gathering place was needed at the new library.

A pathway from the Village Green will lead to an outside “community forum pit” and then to one of the entrances of the library, which is lined with beams to form what Faniro calls an “arbor.”

“It’s almost like you are walking into the village,” Faniro told the board. “[It’s] very friendly.”

The building will have tall windows and will be built with brick. Colors for the building have yet to be decided. Outside the main “Village Green” there will be multiple grassy areas surrounding the library to fit with the theme of the area, and ample parking will be provided with a total of 91 spaces.

The inside of the library will have specialized areas for reading, meeting and a children’s section with a “playscape” for fun activities. There is also a center service desk.

A multipurpose room in the new library could house guests for entertainment at the library. The plans are to not offer a full cafe at the Canfield library, but instead have coffee services.

A location to house the library while the new library is under construction still is being sought.