New Library Site Decided by the Select Board

By Stephanie Skinner

September 2025

In July the Library Building Committee recommended hiring TSKP Studio to work on the design of the new library. The committee was impressed that the principals, Whit Inglehart, Michael Scott, and Yugon Kim, and Brandi, town administrator, turned around a comprehensive contract in record time.

TSKP worked with our Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) Downes Construction and created a tight schedule to deliver a final plan to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners in December. The most pressing task in the schedule was to decide on the location for the new library.

Where are those sites? They are: Crandall’s field – the field next to the self-storage on 23 in East Otis, which will need to be purchased; the 100-acre site – on West Center Road by the transfer station, owned by the town; and the Erbe site – across from Town Hall, also owned by the town.

The pros and cons of each site were weighed broadly. Based on comments at meetings on August 12th and 26th there was a strong consensus that residents wanted the library at the Erbe site. Larry Southard made an impassioned case for East Otis saying that town center had moved and there was no return on investment in putting the library in Otis town center. Terry Gould opined that the West Center Road site would allow for greater expansion. Larry Gould expressed that the Erbe site option's well would be a problem for Town Hall.

After all comments were heard, the Select Board voted unanimously to put the library at the East Otis site.