[Publib] Public park around library property

[Rawles-Heiser, Carolyn]

In another library system where I worked, our branch library was in a
park.  Some of the problems we encountered included parking problems
when the park was heavily used, such as during big softball games, and
overuse of our dumpsters by barbeque-ers whose trash attracted those
awful meat-eating wasps.  We also had problems with bears jumping on our
dumpsters after we installed locks on them and chipmunks living in the
ceiling  but those are different stories :-).  
Carolyn

Carolyn Rawles-Heiser
Library Director
Corvallis--Benton County Public Library
645 NW Monroe Ave.
Corvallis, OR  97330


-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Theresa Grieshaber
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2008 11:51 AM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] Public park around library property


    Think twice about this!  In theory it's a lovely concept.  It's SO-O
pretty to think of a nice quiet library filled with people who take
their books  outside and sun themselves in the park.  

    Here's the truth:  Too many parks are filled with people doing
things they shouldn't.  There's the drunk sleeping off his hangover.
There's the gang members doing tagging or fighting.  There's the wet
kids who played in the sprinklers dripping  water all over your lobby
floor and creating a slip and fall hazard because they just have to use
the facilities. There's the pervert doing...well never mind.

    In other words, the lawless, disorderly, nuisance behavior in the
park gets dragged into the library.  Once your library gets a reputation
for for having a creepy clientele, no one, not staff or customers will
want to go there.  You will have to lock the restrooms and spend more on
graffiti removal and security guards.

      Just my own opinion.

      Theresa Grieshaber
       Modesto CA
 


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