Our Beloved Lake Oswego Library: What I Learned Behind the Scenes—and What We Should Consider Next

2 days ago

10 min read

Updated: 12 hours ago

First, let's appreciate the people who make our library special.

My husband Michael and I toured the Lake Oswego Public Library on Friday with Library Director Melissa Kelly.

At the end of our tour, I gave Melissa a hug and thanked her profusely for continuing to lead with such a positive attitude under some very challenging circumstances.

As Library Director, Melissa's expertise and primary responsibility have always been leading the library staff, managing the collection and providing excellent library services. That's what she's trained to do and what she loves.

But over the years, she's also had to become something of a construction and building maintenance expert, learning how to navigate the many challenges of maintaining an aging building. And now she's taken on even more responsibilities: change management and leadership of two major task forces. One is considering the future use of the existing library property when the library moves, and the other is developing a vision for our future library. That's a tremendous amount of additional responsibility, without any extra pay or bonus as far as I know.

Boy, do we need to APPRECIATE Melissa and her entire team!

Let's all be sure to recognize and appreciate all of them.

Our library gets rave reviews. And deservedly so!

I looked up Google reviews of the Lake Oswego Library. It has an impressive 4.8 out of 5 stars.

Everyone I know speaks highly of the library staff. They're described as helpful, kind, responsive and consistently delivering exceptional customer experiences.

And many of us love the cozy library we have today.

Two areas to look outside in our library - one for kids in the basement and another for adults. Both clever, cozy and creative uses of limited space and funding.

But what I didn't fully appreciate until our behind-the-scenes tour was the difference between loving the people and services of a library and recognizing the limitations of its physical building.

A beloved building with some very serious problems

Going into areas the public doesn't normally see on the library tour with Melissa, I came away thinking of the library as being a little like your grandmother's home where she's lived for decades. It's beloved, filled with wonderful memories and wonderful people. But eventually, the house itself becomes too expensive to maintain and bring up to modern standards.

That's the situation I believe we're facing with our library.

Michael, who is an engineer, summarized his reaction to the tour this way:

"After a tour of the current library by Melissa Kelly, Library Director, I was dissuaded from the notion of renovation. The site is too small for any reasonable purpose. If it were renovated, it would need to focus on two priorities, and leave the other eight or ten priorities unmet."

There are significant building problems, but there are also limitations imposed by the property itself. Even if we could fix the building, would the site allow us to create the kind of library our community needs for the next 50 years?

There is a 2024 report on the library website documenting many of the existing building's problems. I encourage people to review it rather than assume that remodeling is a simple or inexpensive solution.

You'll see all this in the "behind the scenes" tour. The blue tape on the floor is because the floor is buckling and someone tripped on it. There's lots of water damage and problems with air quality. And the elevator is old and requires a lot of investment to keep it functional. The bathrooms are not all ADA friendly.

Only part of the deck is safe. There's only one "large" conference room and it only holds 11 people.

There are no computer servers, just wires the IT staff has set up. This is antiquated!

I hear different opinions from LO residents

Last week, Jim Perris and I met over coffee with Deborah Linke, who leads a group advocating for rebuilding the library at its current location and adding a branch across town. She shared her concerns about the existing building and the City's process for moving forward without fully considering alternatives.

I've also heard these comments from other neighbors:

"The City is being very authoritative in moving forward on a new big library without considering what can be done with the existing land and with the limited budget we have."

"We're tapped out on approving bonds. The City needs to work within the available funds."

I think these are legitimate concerns that deserve thoughtful consideration. No one likes one option. They like to see at least three with pros, cons and costs to make a decision. That's true for deciding on a new kitchen faucet and applies to a new library. Good-Better-Best with costs and clear trade-offs helps people make decisions.

The LO Review recently conducted a "non scientific" research survey that 400 people completed and they published the results in the print version (I couldn't find it online). The nutshell:

"Most survey respondents felt that the current library adequately meets the needs of the community."
"Also 50% of respondents said they would not support a Bond to build a new library and 58% said they would support a Bond to renovate the existing space." (That's not a typo by me - the numbers don't add up to 100%, they add up to more).
"In terms of features that are lacking in the current library, respondents identified parking as the biggest improvement area while community meeting spaces, technology and general building access were regularly mentioned as well."
Some people were pro a new library on a new site. Others were not.

We can love our library, appreciate the staff and still have different opinions about the best and most financially responsible way forward. That's why I believe we need to look at the options, understand the trade-offs and give taxpayers a clearer picture of what their money could buy.

What a contrast!

Visiting the new Lake Oswego Middle School library

This weekend, I was invited to tour the new Lake Oswego Middle School and see its impressive, modern library. WOW! What a contrast.

Our public library is cozy and familiar, like a grandmother's home.

The new LO Middle School is light-filled, welcoming, modern and designed around how people use spaces today.

The library at the LO Middle School is lovely!

It reminded me that we need to think about the next generation of library users, not just what those of us who use the current library are accustomed to.

My thoughts about next steps

Here are five things I think would help move the conversation forward.

1. Go tour our existing library. See for yourself.

I encourage everyone who has an opinion about remodeling versus rebuilding to take a tour of the existing library where you'll see some of the areas not normally accessible to the public.

Look at the photos we're sharing and review the 2024 building report.

Let's stop assuming that we can simply remodel the existing building and have a modern library. We need to understand the true costs and limitations.

Hopefully, we can maintain the existing building safely and functionally until a replacement is ready.

2. Let's take care of the wonderful people who lead and operate our library.

Our Library Director and staff deserve a pleasant, functional and well-maintained place to work. Like our teachers and firefighters, they spend their days helping other people. They shouldn't have to spend so much time dealing with the headaches of an aging building. Let's give them the facilities and resources they need to focus on what they do best: helping people!

3. Acknowledge the limitations of the existing library site.

The current location has some significant constraints, including limited parking (only 66 spaces) and restrictions from the neighborhood on how much we can build up vertically.

If we rebuild on the existing property, we need to understand what is realistically possible. The foundation of the existing building can't support another floor. Books are very heavy as well and require additional structural support. Melissa showed us where the bookshelves were "bowing" with the weight and had to be nailed down and together.

At the existing site, could underground parking be feasible? Would we have to accept a smaller building footprint? What services and spaces would we have to give up?

Think about the kinds of spaces modern libraries offer:

Great places for kids.
Larger meeting rooms.
Private study and tutoring rooms.
A dedicated teen area where students can socialize, study and sometimes be noisy.
A digital maker space.
A café and welcoming gathering areas.

Would all of these fit on the existing property? With enough parking?

Michael and I recently visited the 135,000-square-foot Carmel Clay Public Library in Indiana. It's enormous, and certainly not what Lake Oswego needs to replicate. But it gave us wonderful ideas about what modern libraries can offer.

We have "Library Envy" After Visiting the Carmel, Indiana Library

We also visited the West Linn Public Library and were impressed by what they've accomplished with a more modest facility and budget. One of our neighbors works there and shared some wonderful insights about the library and its operations.

West Linn's Public Library: Ideas for Lake Oswego

We should be learning from both!

4. Let's focus on future library users, not just today's library users.

We need to think 20, 30 and 50 years ahead.

What will children, teenagers, families, seniors, students and working adults want from their library?
How will technology change the way people use libraries? Many people now access the library for digital assets only. And those are part of the Clackamas County library system, not limited to a collection from just LO.
What services will people need? And want?
What spaces will bring people together?
What will digital users want? They now represent 50% of usage of library services for most libraries and access is through a network of all Clackamas County libraries who share resources.

I hope we don't simply recreate the library we have today in a newer building. Let's instead define the services and experiences we want first, and then determine the right size, location and cost to deliver them.

5. Let's ask the City to show us GOOD, BETTER and BEST options.

Right now, the City has hired an Owner's Representative and an architect to work with the Future Library Task Force and City leadership on a vision for a new library and community center. That may ultimately be the BEST option for Lake Oswego. But what will it cost taxpayers? How much of that cost will require a bond? How many years will taxpayers be paying for it?

I think the City should invest in helping our community understand at least three levels of investment and what each would deliver.

Here are some possibilities I'd like to see evaluated:

GOOD: A new library on the existing property

Tear down the existing library and build a new, appropriately sized library on the land the City already owns, with adequate parking.

Questions to answer:

What could we build within the existing property constraints?
Could underground parking make the project feasible?
What services and spaces would we have to sacrifice?
How much would it cost?
How long would construction take?
Where would library services operate during construction?

This might be the less expensive option, but we need to understand what we would gain and what we would give up.

BETTER: Sell the existing library property and build a library elsewhere

What if the City sold the existing library property and used the proceeds toward a new library in an urban renewal district elsewhere in Lake Oswego?

I've heard estimates that the existing property could be worth approximately $5 million. And there may be opportunities to generate significant urban renewal funding—potentially around $40 million, depending on the location, available resources and timing.

Combined with Library Foundation funds, could we develop a plan for a modern library with approximately $50 million in available funding?

This is an option worth evaluating rather than dismissing.

BETTER PLUS: Add a private fundraising campaign

What if we combined the BETTER option with a major private fundraising effort?

Could the Lake Oswego Library Foundation launch a campaign to raise $10 million or more?

Powell's leased space at PDX. Perhaps we could have one main LO library and a smaller branch at a leased site across town.

Perhaps individual donors, families and local businesses would be interested in sponsoring specific spaces and services, such as:

A teen lounge.
A children's learning area.
A café or community gathering space.
Meeting and study rooms.
Funding a branch of the library. Powell's Books has a "branch" at PDX that's wonderful and a fraction of the size of the main site.

Can we please explore the potential of other options before assuming that taxpayers must fund every feature?

BEST: A new library and community center

This is the direction the Future Library Task Force and the City's design team are currently exploring. A larger library combined with a community center could offer tremendous opportunities for our community.

But it could also cost $100 million or more and require a substantial bond.

If this is the BEST option, let's understand why, what it would deliver, how much it would cost and how we would pay for it.

And let's compare it honestly with the GOOD and BETTER alternatives.

These are preliminary ideas and financial assumptions, not established project estimates. I'd like to see the City evaluate them with professional cost estimates, realistic funding scenarios and an understanding of the trade-offs.

Let's Figure Out How to Move Forward Together in a Friendly, Constructive Way

What do we as a town agree with? We love our Lake Oswego Library. We love the people who work there, the services they provide and the role the library plays in our community.

But loving what we have today doesn't mean we should spend money trying to preserve a building that may no longer serve our needs.

And wanting a wonderful new library shouldn't mean we should automatically choose the biggest or most expensive option.

Let's be ambitious about what our future library can offer, but equally ambitious about being financially responsible.

Let's understand the alternatives, learn from other communities, listen to taxpayers and make decisions based on good information.

Most importantly, let's take care of our wonderful library staff while we work toward a better future. They deserve nothing less!

The library purpose isn't about a building but a nice building helps all this happen

Other blog posts about the library: