[Publib] libraries working together?

[Rebecca Bronson]

We are a three-jurisdictional regional system, with one library in each
jurisdiction. The Library Board is comprised of representatives from all of
the participating jurisdictions, and we are our own fiscal agent, although
we do participate with Frederick County, Va., in the Virginia Retirement
System and in its 457 plan. Each jurisdiction maintains its own building and
contributes jointly to operating expenses and staffing.

Each of our libraries has its own character and feel. The oldest building is
the Handley Library in Winchester, built in 1913 and the only Beaux Arts
building in Virginia. The Stuart Bell Jr. Archives is housed at Handley and
is a major repository for local history items covering the Northern
Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Additionally Handley is a full-service
library with children's and adult programming. The Handley auditorium is
often home to the Magic Lantern Theater film series, as well as the Little
Noon Music concert series in the fall and winter.

The Clarke County Library in Berryville, Va., is a small community library
that will be expanding into new space at a new municipal building for Clarke
County and the town of Berryville. Its collections are of a browsing nature.
Should folks need serious reference help, staff there will call either
Handley or the Bowman Library for more in-depth assistance. We will fax,
email or mail materials to patrons if needed. Clarke participates in the
Summer Reading Program and offers storytimes as well.

The Bowman Library is the newest of the buildings. It is a full-service
35,000 square foot community library offering children's and adult programs.
We have a meeting room that will accomodate up to 120 and quiet study rooms
accomodating up to six. The building was opened in 2001 in the
fastest-growing section of Frederick County and we have seen our yearly
statistics steadily increase as a result. The building is situated on a lake
and we have an entire back wall with lots of windows and comfortable seating
to take advantage of the view. Overall it's a very serene place.

In planning for the Bowman Library we expected lots of families with young
children and retirees, since parking at Handley can be difficult and we have
our own parking lot at Bowman. We are also within walking distance to a
townhouse/condo neighborhood and have a pretty significant young adult/after
school contingent.

The character of the two older libraries evolved over time, but we did
recognize the likely user population for Bowman and planned for that. For
the most part, our planning has been pretty much on target.
Rebecca Bronson
Reference Librarian
Handley Regional Library
P.O. Box 1300
Stephens City, VA  22655

540-869-9000 (voice)
540-869-9001 (fax)

www.hrl.lib.state.va.us

  -----Original Message-----
  From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org]On Behalf Of kristin rainey
  Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 1:59 PM
  To: publib at webjunction.org
  Subject: [Publib] libraries working together?


  Hello all-

  I am the director of a small public library in Southern NH (pop. ~1700).
Our library is starting to prepare needs assessment reports with the goal of
building new facilities in the not-so-distant future.  The libraries in the
two neighboring towns are also working on this process.

  The three libraries in this scenario form a school district, and we often
work together with joint programming, though we have no formal relationship.

  My question is this: are there any libraries out there who have built a
building keeping the needs of other towns/libraries in mind?  For example,
if all three towns in question do build libraries over the next 5-10 years,
I would hope to distribute some of the needs among the three libraries so we
end up with some special features at each library, as opposed to 3 average
libraries.

  Some concrete examples might include having a larger YA room and focus at
the library in the town where both the middle school and the high school are
located, having a larger computer/teaching lab at another, and perhaps a
larger meeting room at the third.

  We're wondering if anyone has dealt with a similar situation out there in
library land.  Creating a relationship such as this will be a challenge, but
I think it would benefit the three towns in the long run.

  And for those of you who are wondering, we have discussed the idea of
building one library for the three towns, but as one of our top priorities
is to be a community center, one building for the three towns wouldn't be a
great solution.  The only buildings in the town where our library is located
are the church, town hall, safety complex, and elementary school, so our
library (only 3 years young) has become a wonderful place "where the
community comes together" (our tagline).

  Any thoughts on our situation?  Anyone have anything similar going on?

  Thanks
  --kristin

  ************************************
  Kristin Cooper Rainey
  Director, Madbury Public Library
  Madbury, NH
  www.madburylibrary.org


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