Waterlogged by rainstorms, stifling from failed ventilation systems and reduced to a single public restroom, the Vineyard Haven Public Library needs millions of dollars in renovations and repairs to get back to full working order.

“In 1999 there was a renovation and an addition... and unfortunately there have been problems ever since,” library director Amy Ryan said during a tour of the building last week.

The library’s elected board of trustees is asking Tisbury voters to approve a Proposition 2 1/2 override for up to $8.8 million in borrowing for the project, which includes building an addition for which the trustees are raising private donations.

The funding will be decided on at a special town meeting next month. The money would go toward a new roof, shingles, windows, insulation, heating and air conditioning systems, bathrooms, paint and carpeting, she said.

Library director Amy Ryan.

Ray Ewing

Library director Amy Ryan.

Ray Ewing

The $8.8 million on the Dec. 17 special town meeting warrant is an intentionally high estimate of what the trustees expect to ask voters to approve, according to Ms. Ryan.

“We didn’t want to take any chances because projects have been coming in high all over the Island,” she said. “We have every reason to think it will be much less than that.”

The current library was built in 1967 and renovated with an addition about 30 years later.

A town facilities study in 2012 identified the building as needing an overhaul, said Arch Smith, who chairs the library board of trustees.

“The library is what the post office used to be: a community gathering spot,” Mr. Smith told the Gazette by phone.

“It’s [for] all walks of life, where nobody cares how fancy your clothes are,” he said.

The library renovation and addition were estimated at roughly $9 million for construction, with another $1 million in related project expenses. The library already has 30 per cent of the total in hand, including about $1 million approved by voters at earlier town meetings, she said.

“With the prior warrant articles and the fund-raising that the capital campaign has done, we have $3 million towards the $10 million,” Ms. Ryan said.

The town finance and advisory committee, which unanimously supported the upcoming warrant article, has recommended taking another $4 million from the town’s building stabilization fund, she said.

“That will mean that it’s only maybe $3 million to $4 million in borrowing and if [bids] come in lower, that will lower the amount of borrowing. So that will have the least impact possible on the tax rate,” Ms. Ryan said.

Water damage is one of the main issues at the library.

Ray Ewing

Water damage is one of the main issues at the library.

Ray Ewing

The precise amount of the borrowing request, based on signed construction bids, will be available in early December, Ms. Ryan said. “We will revise that warrant article down at town meeting.”

The town has had a library since 1850. At that time, it was affiliated with the public schools and held about 200 volumes. By 1878, it was called the The Ladies’ Library League and housed in a Main street building that burned down in the 1883 fire that decimated downtown.

In 1909, the library moved to a former summer house at its current location, 200 Main street, where the old building was demolished in 1967 for the current facility.

The existing building now suffers from a combination of deferred maintenance and botched work from a quarter-century ago, Ms. Ryan said.

“The landscaping was largely done by non-professionals, and the grading of the courtyard area sheds water towards the building, which has caused a lot of damage,” she said.

Stormwater intrusion has worsened over the past year, Ms. Ryan said: “Put an ear to a wall on the basement level when it’s rainy, and you’ll hear water pouring into the building.”

The stacks nearby have had their bottom shelves removed, to keep books dry.

Rainwater also comes through the library’s ceilings, which are mottled with seep marks. Leaking pipes and a faulty air conditioning installation contributed further damage, Ms. Ryan said, pointing out a white-painted wooden patch the size of a shed wall on one area of the ceiling over the main floor.

The basement floor has had to have its ceiling completely replaced, she added.

Fortunately, the library has escaped major damage to its collection, which includes costly art books, many out-of-print volumes and an enviable assortment of ship paintings by Captain James Ivory, an Irish mariner turned Vineyard Haven folk artist who died in 1964.

But after 10 years of increasingly poor air conditioning, Ms. Ryan has had to shut off the ventilation system completely.

“It’s turned off because it doesn’t work,” she said.

The library’s windows don’t open or close without a struggle, she said, while wall-mounted heat pumps do little to warm or cool the air.

The one warm spot is the staff restroom, where the heat won’t shut off.

“It’s like a sauna,” Ms. Ryan said.

Ventilation for the plumbing system is troubled as well, she said.

“For years, we’ve been plagued by periodic backup of sewer gases into the building,” Ms. Ryan said. “It smells really bad. We’ve had sewer fly infestations as part of it.”

Fund-raising continues for the building addition, which Ms. Ryan said will allow the library to expand its reading room and provide a community room for gatherings and events, with much-needed storage on the basement level.

The addition will take up part of the library’s courtyard area, which will be redesigned to make more of the outdoor space available to patrons, Ms. Ryan said.

Plans and information about the entire library project are posted at vhlibrary.org/Building.shtml. 

After Tisbury voters take up the library’s revised override and borrowing request Dec. 17, a ballot vote is scheduled for Jan. 7, 2025. A two-thirds majority at town meeting is required to override Prop. 2 1/2, which limits municipalities’ powers to raise property taxes.