ADA-Compliant doors are set to swing open soon at the Millard Oakley Public Library, using funds from a $10,000 American Library Association grant.
Library staff held a community meeting to ask for citizen input on how the library could improve. Library Director Judith Cutright said meeting attendees agreed accessible doors were the biggest need.
“Our current doors are wide enough to get in with say a wheelchair or a stroller,” Cutright said. “They are not very accessible as far as being able to open them and hold them open long enough to get in someone with mobility issues.”
Cutright said the library has already received two bids for the project, which could be completed by the end of the summer.
Cutright said another concern addressed at the meeting was the Wi-Fi network.
“We are in the process, as a matter of fact, [Tuesday] of putting in some new wiring and routers and so forth to make that a little bit more available,” Cutright said. “So that even when we are closed, people can access the internet with any of their devices anywhere on our property.”
Cutright said the grant required some community engagement. She said she was pleased with the number of people who turned out.
“Part of the grant was to ask the community what they felt the library needed as far as making it more accessible to everyone in the community,” Cutright said.
