Oswego Library Board buys downtown Montgomery parcel for possible third campus

The Oswego Public Library District Board on Wednesday took a step toward the possible construction of a third campus – its second in Montgomery.

Trustees approved the $330,000 purchase of property at 109 and 111 North River St., Montgomery. The funds for the purchase will be taken from the library’s special reserve fund.

“If we don’t start making moves now, when we do decide to do it, nothing may be available.”

—  Oswego Library Board President Terry Tamblyn

The Oswego Public Library District has a campuses at 32 W. Jefferson St. in downtown Oswego and 1111 Reading Drive in Montgomery, near Route 30. The property the library board acquired is in Montgomery’s downtown area.

“When the board decided to do two buildings, they always had in mind that they’d have community neighborhood buildings, versus one giant building,” Oswego Library Director Sarah Skilton said after the meeting. “This would be an initial step as we work toward future planning.”

The district serves a population of 70,508 of which 39,960, or 56%, have library district cards, according to data released in February. The library district serves portions of Kendall, Will and Kane counties.

“We’ve got the two campuses now, and I would imagine that it won’t be that many more years when we’ll have two more – one more probably in Montgomery and one more in Oswego, probably going south towards Plainfield, because that’s where the growth is going,” Oswego Library Board President Terry Tamblyn said. “We’ve identified a spot [in Montgomery] where we think it would be a good match for our patrons. We want smaller campuses. We made a commitment many years ago that we wouldn’t build a big mega library. We’ve tried to build neighborhood libraries where people could walk or ride their bikes.”

More property would have to be acquired next to the newly purchased property before the building plans could move ahead, he said, noting the importance of the library looking to the future.

“It’s all possibilities right now,” Tamblyn said. “If we don’t start making moves now, when we do decide to do it, nothing may be available.”