1. Gateway for All
   Libraries provide information and educational opportunities in the community. They provide a variety of resources and opportunities that promote creativity, discourse, and community involvement. At Keene Memorial Library, patrons are provided multiple resources that include unbiased information and educational opportunities.
2. Tourism
   Many tourists visit libraries to study local history and genealogy. Libraries are excellent resources for the town’s history and promote the town’s culture and significance to the area. Keene Memorial Library has extensive genealogy material available for those interested in Dodge County and the local families. It also serves as the City of Fremont’s visitor’s center.
3. Community Building
   Libraries revitalize and create vibrant neighborhoods. They preserve an area’s history and create “a community of sharing” and the special lending collections grow out of what a community needs. Keene Memorial Library builds community through programs and special events with visiting writers/speakers, politicians, and other cultural programs. The Library has also been an essential public resource in times of community hardship like the 2019 floods and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
4. Community Workforce Development
   Libraries provide community access to career development with tools and programs that support workforce literacy and skill development. Keene Memorial Library offers bilingual support and guidance to promote our workforce. With more staff, the Library plans to expand offerings through partnerships with small businesses and the Department of Labor.
5. New Citizen Resources
   Libraries are a resource for assimilating citizens and offering essential services like literacy and language development classes and comprehensive resources for attaining citizenship. Keene Memorial Library has a bilingual staff member and offers individual and group community programs. The Library plans to expand this resource to include language learning programs with partners such as Metro Community College.
6. Business Owner Support
   Libraries support new business owners with meeting spaces, training workshops, networking, job fairs, and resources that help businesses grow. Keene Memorial Library offers electronic and print resources to help start or grow a business. Space is available for meetings and workshops with more meeting spaces in high demand.
7. New Enterprises
   Nationally, libraries supply community resources including incubator/makerspace, startup assistance, business databases, and research capabilities. Keene Memorial Library plans to add space and additional business services such as makerspace technology to benefit those in the community interested in starting a business.

As part of the renovation process, the City of Fremont has hired Tetrad Property Group as an owner’s representative to coordinate the building and construction options.  On Tuesday, October 13, the Fremont City Council approved the hiring of Tetrad Property Group after four companies submitted proposals.

An Owner’s Representative serves as a project manager, overseeing the details of finalizing the architect’s drawings, hiring the contractors, and following the construction through to the end. The Tetrad Property Group will help the City of Fremont and Keene Memorial Library produce an appropriate budget, timeline, and design for the library’s expansion. They shepherd the project through various deadlines and phases and let the library director be a librarian.

In considering hiring an owner’s representative, library leaders reached out to other librarians and received their feedback regarding their own library projects. The response Keene Memorial librarians received indicated that it would be a mistake not to hire an Owner’s Representative. 

Alex Henery will be the lead coordinator for the project. Henery has previously worked on Metro’s Fort Omaha Campus Expansion and the Douglas County West Community Schools Elementary School.