Woburn Public Library

If you need a great book, a movie or access to the internet this is where you go in Woburn. If you want a historical view of amazing architecture this is a definite place to go in Woburn. I love the WPL. I only hope the law makers and local decision makers continue to honor how significant it is to the community.

The City of Woburn needs to take a page from some of the surrounding municipalities and renovate this absolutely gorgeous H.H. Richardson building to make it serviceable for the needs of the residents of the town.
The exterior is breathtaking with its showy striped brick and castle-​like appearance. It turns the heads of everyone arriving in the center of town for the first time. It well deserves its status on the National Register of Historic Places.
Inside, however, is another story. It’s dark, cluttered, too small for any kind of meaningful collection or reliable work space, with a mezzanine level that is no longer safe for the public to access, and a tiny children’s room down a narrow spiral staircase. The video/​fiction area, where an overhead network of horrible metal lighting fixtures obstructs the view upward into the tower is an absolute crime against architecture. The overstuffed interior makes it difficult for the library to organize events, although they try to make do in the main reading room.
The staff are very nice, and they have the interlibrary delivery services, ebooks, and research databases through Minuteman library network and the state to augment the small collection of printed books. Woburn City residents have access to Mango for learning languages. Free wireless is available in the building.

Massachusetts is blessed with a bevy of beautiful and, in some cases, iconic libraries. Woburn is lucky to have one that fits both categories. The building is a masterwork of the architect Henry Hobson Richardson. Among other buildings, Richardson designed Trinity Church, on Copley Sqaure, in Boston.
Yes, the building needs rehab. Yes, it is woefully inadequate to meet the needs of a modern library. Still, with so much of the original structure, finishes, and furnishings intact, the architect’s desires and intention remain clear. With nearly all of Richardson’s libraries having under gone renovations or significant alterations, it is amazing to see the Woburn building, more or less, in its original condition. Here is hoping that, in the community’s quest to meet their needs, this jewel box retains its grace and beauty.