SCARBOROUGH – When the Scarborough Public Library building was constructed 25 years ago, young adult fiction was a barely heard-of genre, the Internet was in its infancy and e-books read on portable tablets seemed like something out of science fiction.

At that time, the library also still conformed to the age-old stereotype of being a quiet place, full of printed materials with stern-faced librarians telling visitors to be quiet.

Now it’s more like a community center with people of all ages using the facility for a multitude of reasons.

“This is a very busy place,” said Nancy Crowell, library director since 1977. “(But) it’s differently busy, which is why we are trying to come up with different ways of measuring our impact, other than the traditional measure of the number of items circulated.”

Crowell said the library is a “truly vital space” that will always have print books but that must also keep up with the times and meet the demands of its users, including expanding the young adult fiction collection to include graphic novels and finding space for kids to play and learn.

“Years ago our issue was finding places for more shelves, now it’s not so much about ownership of materials, but access to information,” she added. “The types of activities may change, but providing space for people will always be important.”

Even after 37 years on the job, Crowell said coming to work at the library never gets old.

“Every time I walk through the building, I’m awed at how it’s being used. It’s truly an all-age space, and I really feel this is what a library is supposed to be,” she said.

The library, which is open seven days a week, is staffed by 23 employees, six of whom are full-time, according to Crowell. She said what’s great for the community of library users is that a high percentage of those staffers are trained librarians. Crowell said the library’s top priority is providing top-notch service, including providing high quality programming.

The problem is that space within the 12,500-square-foot building is at a premium. Crowell said when the library was first built in 1989 the plan was to add on within 10 years. However every attempt at expanding the library in the past 25 years has been defeated, including the most recent referendum question, which voters turned down in 2006.

“We are trying to be patient,” Crowell said, “but it is stressful not to have enough space, especially when we plan programming. We have to think about how it will affect the whole building, including the availability of parking.”

Her hope is that a $4 million library bond will be placed on the ballot in 2017, but Crowell said the public safety building in Oak Hill is the town’s top capital improvement project right now.

However, the library is set to receive $255,000 for building planning purposes in fiscal year 2015-2016, according to Crowell, which will allow the library to continue its ongoing strategic planning process.

In the meantime, she said, there is every intention to maintain the building and keep it as updated as possible. To that end, according to Crowell, money has been spent in recent years on new doors and windows, carpeting, lighting and technology.

And, this fiscal year, the library will spend about $200,000 renovating the staff area, to provide better, more private working stations, Crowell said.

“We definitely have a need for more space,” she said. “But we also respect the space we have and have tried to maintain it. I am proud of what we can provide, and I have a team that respects the investment of the community (into this building).”

What Crowell would most like to see in a newly expanded library is “first and foremost, space for people. We need independent study and small group meeting space, we need a larger children’s area, a larger, dividable meeting room and an appropriate staff area.”

In addition, she would like the library to be able to provide “maker space” and offer access to equipment like a 3-D printer. Crowell also said a newly expanded library could be an ideal location for the Scarborough Economic Development Corp. and other partner agencies.

In all, Crowell said, “we have adapted well to our limited space, and I’m proud that the general public does not see these stressors.”

Patron Gabrielle Herbig, who was visiting the library recently with her son, Owen, 19 months, certainly doesn’t see any deficiencies, saying it’s “a really fun, comfortable place to come and explore things we don’t have access to at home.”

In particular, Herbig said, Owen enjoys the Tuesday morning story time and the “good selection of children’s movies.” Herbig also said the library is a perfect spot to spend time with her son, who is “at an age to really enjoy books.”

For Herbig, she likes the fact that the library has e-books and Kindle tablets available, saying, “it’s great that the local library is (well) equipped” with the latest technology.

The original Scarborough library was located on Black Point Road, next to the First Congregational Church. It opened in 1899. The decision to relocate the library, which was made in the late 1980s, was based on the fact that the library’s parcel was landlocked, and it also seemed more appropriate for the library to be centrally located, Crowell said.

The library, which is overseen by a board of trustees, is leasing the town-owned land at its current location at the cost of $1 per year for 99 years, which was paid up front, according to Crowell.

She said since the library was built, the whole of Oak Hill has changed, including much more commercial development and the construction of the middle school and the new Wentworth Intermediate School.

“We are definitely part of the school campus now,” Crowell said. “There’s also been a big change in the residential and commercial density of the area and we have become more of a pedestrian community than we originally thought.”

Linda Elliott, chairwoman of the library’s board of trustees, said she first got involved in library governance about six years ago when a friend asked her to join the board because they “knew how much I valued the library as a public institution and that I wanted to get more involved within our community.”

Elliott said, “Our library is exceptional due to its steadfast commitment to keeping up with technology and societal changes. We were the first in Maine to use the 3M Cloud Library, which is a digital collection of books we purchase for our patrons.”

In addition, the Scarborough library is now officially certified as a Family Place Library, which means it has committed to implementing programming designed to nurture lifelong learning and other literacy support systems.

But, Elliott said, “the No. 1 thing that makes our library special is all of the effort and care put into it over the years by both the staff and the members of our community. Our director, Nancy Crowell, has been a steady hand at the helm for many years.”

She also said that the library benefits from a “fantastic” friends group, “who have been our biggest supporters since 1970. Just like a garden, our library is lovingly cared for, and as a result the whole community benefits.”

Elliott said the library is personally special because it acts as a “great equalizer. When I was a young girl, my family did not have much money. One day, I went to the library in the small town where we lived. When I applied for my card, I was shocked when the librarian told me I could take out anything I wanted and as many as I wanted (for free).”

She added, “At the library, I was just as rich as anyone else. I could read anything I wanted and learn about anything that interested me. Even now, it is a freedom like no other to have all of that knowledge at my fingertips.”

Overall, what Elliott wants people to know about the Scarborough Public Library “is that it is a wonderful place that has something for everyone.”

Gabrielle Herbig and her son, Owen, 19 months, are regulars at the Scarborough Public Library, particularly for the Tuesday morning story time.Nancy Crowell has been the director of the Scarborough Public Library for the past 37 years and helped design the current building.