Residents Pleased with Cheshire Library Renovations

Several months after the Cheshire Public Library underwent a $160,000 renovation project, the reviews are in and they're all thumbs up.

"On the balance, people really like it," said Deborah Rutter, the library's Deputy Director.

"One of the funniest comment I've heard is about the big skylight over stairwell -- people walk in and say wow, did you put it in as part of the renovation when its been there the whole time," she said. "We opened up that area around the railings and I think people see it differently and think we have done more renovations than we really have done."

Two of the biggest parts of the renovation are the new Teen Room and the self-checkout kiosks, which are especially a hit with kids, Rutter said.

"The average use on it is more than 64 percent," she said. "Invariably, if people have children, they really like doing it.

"I think people are so used to this sort thing now because they see them in grocery store and atms in banks," she said. "It's not the stretch it would have been 10 years ago -- there's very few who don't do it even occasionally now."

"It's a fast, easy way to do it," said resident Joe Miller, who was checking out materials Thursday evening, "and it beats standing in line."

The new Teen Room also is a big hit, Rutter said.

"The Teen Room is tremendously popular -- there are kids in there all the time," she said. "It was a big part of the renovation because prior we didn't have a space for them.

"The preschool area is not big enough but bigger than it was," she said. "People are really enjoying that."

And there's more to come, she said.

"We are actually not quite done," she said. "We have ordered additional shelving and decorative touches such as signage so everything will be consistent throughout so we are not quite done yet."