Infrastructure and Safety: Fulton County Library Adds Glam to Unglamorous Upgrades

If you’ve ever worked in a rural public library, you know that being small doesn’t mean doing less—it means doing it all, often across multiple branches and with a fraction of the budget. Andrea Roe, Director of the Fulton County Library in Indiana, knows this balancing act well. “We serve a small, rural county with about 16,000 people, but we’re a county public library with three locations,” she explained when we spoke. “Fulton County is unique in that two of the nine townships have their own library; we serve the other seven.”

Roe, who grew up in the area, now leads the library system that includes a main location in Rochester and branches in Fulton and Leiters Ford. All are part of the Evergreen Indiana consortium, which helps expand access to materials across the state.

With a $2 million annual budget and a $2.8 million bond-backed renovation project underway, Roe and her team are tackling both long-standing infrastructure issues and forward-looking improvements to ensure the library continues to meet community needs.

Strategic Planning with RTL

In 2021–22, Fulton County Library partnered with ReThinking Libraries (RTL) to create a strategic plan covering 2022–2026. That planning process turned out to be both timely and critical. “Our biggest challenge was a bond that expires in January 2026,” Roe said. “We needed to have a plan in place to take advantage of the timing, especially since legislation was changing.”

As many library directors know, when a bond rolls off, it’s often wise to initiate another project quickly to maintain the tax rate. Working with RTL, Roe’s team identified key facility needs and created a space plan to guide the upcoming renovations.

Addressing Safety and Accessibility

The strategic and space planning work revealed a number of opportunities—some more urgent than others. Safety and accessibility, for example, became central priorities across all three buildings.

At the Fulton Branch, which sits on a major highway, the main entrance posed a safety hazard for children and wasn’t ADA compliant. The renovation will reorient the entrance to a quieter side road and add an automatic sliding door. “Someone had to open the door for wheelchair users before. That had to change,” Roe said. The branch is also getting fresh flooring, paint, and a relocated circulation desk to align with the new entrance.

Fulton Branch

The Aubbee Branch in Leiters Ford is particularly meaningful to Roe, who was raised in the town. She started her library career at the Aubbee Branch 18 years ago.

Built in 2009, the Aubbee Branch has long dealt with a flooding parking lot that ices over in winter. The project includes drainage improvements, paving (the lot was previously gravel), and similar interior upgrades. This branch, too, will become ADA compliant with a sliding entrance door.

Aubbee Branch

Roe noted, “That little library paved the way for my career in libraries. I love that I get to serve my hometown. The library is a highlight in Leiters Ford and I’m excited I get help to make it shine even brighter.”

A Bigger Vision for Rochester

The main library in Rochester is undergoing the most extensive transformation. It includes relocating the teen area to a more central space, expanding and relocating the hidden-away makerspace, and redesigning the adult circulation desk for greater visibility.

Rochester Library

“We’re really trying to open things up,” Roe said. That includes shrinking large posts that obstruct sight lines, replacing tall and unstable shelving with lower, safer units, and weeding the collection to right-size it. “Being part of Evergreen Indiana means we don’t need to own everything ourselves—we can rely on the network to fill gaps.”

The Rochester location is also getting updated doors, HVAC work, and infrastructure improvements. “These might not be glamorous changes, but they really matter for community buy-in,” Roe added.

Construction, Compromises, and Community Support

As is often the case these days, construction bids came in higher than expected. The team turned to value engineering to stay within budget, making practical choices like keeping some existing walls and opting for more affordable finishes—without compromising the overall vision.

The project is being managed with the help of architectural firm Odle McGuire Shook (OMS), and financial consulting from Ice Miller and Baker Tilly. All three locations are under construction simultaneously, with the Fulton Branch starting in late April and the Aubbee Branch expected to close for a week during restroom renovations.

Even with a few trade-offs, the community response has been overwhelmingly positive. Roe credits that in part to working well with the county: “They’ve been really supportive of the library, which made the process much smoother.”

Looking Ahead

While the renovation focuses on the interior and infrastructure, Roe also has an eye on the library’s outdoor space. An arboretum covering about half a city block will be addressed in a future project. “It needs a lot of work—overgrown trees, unnecessary hills. Some plants are thriving, others not so much,” she said. For now, the priority is getting the indoor spaces safe, functional, and welcoming again.

So what’s she most excited about? “Getting it open to the public,” Roe said without hesitation. “We’ve been in the process for a while now, and each branch has something to look forward to—whether it’s a safer entrance, a dry parking lot, or a makerspace that’s finally front and center.”

It’s a good reminder that strategic planning isn’t just about lofty goals—it’s about making the kinds of changes that truly serve your community. And as Roe and her team are proving, with a thoughtful plan and a dedicated staff, even a small rural system can make a big impact.