Gold Coast Library's new Glen Head location features community room, larger spaces

The Gold Coast Library opened its new Glen Head location in March, a $12 million facility equipped with quiet areas and meeting spaces for events.

The 11,000 square-foot library, located at 146 Glen Head Rd., is nearly double the size of the two buildings the library previously used and features a community room that can hold more than 100 people as well as outdoor reading space. Mike Morea, the library's director, said the library opened March 20 and had around 400 people come through its doors that day, a number that would have overwhelmed the old building.

"Enough people know about it that once we got open, there was excitement," Morea said standing inside the library’s large meeting space. "But that was the goal — to have it as a resource for everybody."

On Tuesday morning, two glassed-in meeting spaces were full of people on their laptops, and reading areas had patrons looking through magazines and perusing books. The reading area includes a lounge area for teenagers to take part in study groups, and a separate room — a space with brightly-colored chairs and laminate flooring that’s easy to clean — is set aside for the library’s children’s program. At the rear of the building, there are conference rooms for meetings and a large community space that can be split in half with a divider. 

"This building really is only 11,000-square feet, but how this really has played out is that every space is flexible and feels bigger than it is," Morea said.

Barbara Schmidt, 95, has been a Glen Head resident for 65 years and frequented the old library. She said the new facility’s one-floor layout is more convenient than the old space and has better room for meetings.

"We’re having our Garden Club meetings here come September," said Schmidt, treasurer of the Glen Garden Club of Glen Head.

Caroline Ashby, director of the Nassau Library System, said in a statement the Gold Coast Library's "state-of-the-art meeting and study spaces" will make it "the community's gathering place for decades to come."

The Gold Coast Library was first established in 2005 at 50 Railroad Ave. The building was just 4,400-square feet, and the library needed to rent a second building at 40 Railroad Ave. to add space for meetings. Rent for that site was around $100,000 a year, Morea said, making it a financial drain for the library.

The library board voted last year to sell its 50 Railroad Ave. building for $925,000, and the new facility removed the need to rent additional space. The Glen Head Library spent $2.25 million to acquire the 2.6-acre property for the new building, and construction on the facility began in September 2023.

Morea said navigating the permitting process took longer than he anticipated, which delayed the new library’s opening. He said some additions still need to be made to the site, including outdoor furniture and tweaks to the interior.

George Pombar, president of the Glen Head/Glenwood Landing Civic Council, said the civic group has held a meeting in the new library space, which is already serving as a community hub within days of opening.

"We’ve seen a lot of activity of young people going in there," Pombar said in a phone interview. "It’s a nice addition to the community."