[Publib] libraries in municipal buildings

[Reeder, Norm]

Our main library is located in the "Civic Center" complex where City Hall, the Police Department, the City Theater and arts complex and public swimming pool are all located.  One of the issues you may see, depending on the mix of facilities that is built is a parking problem.

When the theater or arts complex has large meetings during the day, the parking lot can get full and there's no place for library users.  Often those complexes open earlier (like 8am) than the library (10 am).  On the other hand, often their programs are in the evenings when we aren't open (Friday and Saturday night for example).

The good news is the "visibility", both physical as well as "virtual".  By virtual I mean that lots of the public gets to thinking of that complex and all of the events that go on there.

A design recommendation (not followed here).  The parking lot is in the center of our complex, with all of the buildings on the edges facing the streets.  However, when users park, they are always located at the "back" of the buildings because the entrances are all facing the street (where there is no parking!).  Makes for confusion and isn't handicapped friendly either.

Thanks
Norm Reeder
Torrance Public Library



-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Andrea Berstler - Director
Sent: Friday, February 01, 2008 9:27 AM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] libraries in municipal buildings

Our municipality is considering several avenues to deal with exponential
growth. Thankfully, they are taking the library into consideration along
with several other services (Community Center, local government, police,
etc). This is very nice as we are a 501 3(c) and not a municipal government
entity.

One of the possible options is to house all the services in one complex. On
the surface, this appears to be a win win for us, however I would like to
make sure I have researched this.

If you are presently housed in such a complex or are looking into this setup
- could you please let me know what issues, problems, etc have you
experienced ?
What do you know now that you wished you had know then?
What things does the library need to look out for, plan for, etc. when using
this type of setup.


Also - does anyone know if a spread sheet or formula for working a rough
estimate of furnishings for a library based on square footage?


Thank you in advance!


Andrea

Andrea Berstler - Director
The Village Library of Morgantown
PO Box 797, 207 N Walnut St
Morgantown, PA
www.villagelibrary.org
610-286-1022
Preserving the Past . . . Preparing for the Future . . .

Sometimes you gotta create what you want to be a part of.    - Geri Weitzman

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