Mayor Thomas Menino Hints at Big Renovation for Jamaica Plain Branch Library

Mayor Thomas Menino hinted strongly that people wanting a major renovation of the may finally get their wish.

In remarks to a group of local journalists at a lunch meeting on Thursday, Menino said plans for renovating the aging facility will likely go beyond the recently earmarked for improvements.

"We have other ideas about the JP building," the mayor said.

He said he would announce any decisions directly to the Friends of the JP Branch Library group before making them public, however. He said an announcement could be coming from his office within a month or so.

While he would not provide details, he did say that a previous plan for an $8.5 million renovation was "not realistic." A copy of the 2006 plan is attached to this post as a PDF.

The JP Branch, among the most-used in the city's system, has several problems. The 1911 building does not comply with the Americans for Disabilities Act, for instance, in providing access to two of the structure's three floors. And it has an entrance leading right through the children's room, which library booster Gretchen Grozier has called "."