DLIT Gets 21st Century Library Tips

The Dedham Library Innovation Team [DLIT] welcomed Westwood Library Director Tom Viti to speak Tuesday about the decade-plus preparation for the new Westwood Library, which broke ground earlier this year.

Viti said it is difficult to create “successful library projects in hard times.”

Viti explained that whatever initial opposition there was to the project, it was overcome with community inclusion. He described the best ways to keep the project alive was to include people that are visible in the community. The Westwood Library trustees paid extra for an artist’s rendering of what the new library would look like.

“It gave [the community] an ‘Ah-ha’ moment,” said Viti. 

Viti encouraged persistence, searching for grants through the state Board of Library Commissioners and use of “local talent.”

He emphasized the use of the Library Board of Commissioners grant program, calling it a successful program.

“Nobody expects the town to pay for everything,” he said.

Selectman Paul Reynolds said it was “inspiring to see that you’ve gone through it and got it done.”

Reynolds added that the Innovation Team is, “looking for best practices,” and happy to see that when they started the committee such a diverse group presented themselves.

“We need all of us,” he said.

DLIT is seeking to help the two Dedham libraries stay open, staffed and relevant in the future. Supporters have suggested revamping the libraries into inter-generational facilities and incorporate them into learning centers.

The newest Dedham Library Board trustee Rachel Tuerck asked Viti how libraries would stay relevant with e-books becoming more popular.

He said in the future they would expand their resources and make use of the new technologies, as libraries become more of a community and information center. 

“Libraries are where communities come together,” Viti said.