“Books and Beyond” Vision Drives Library Expansion Plans

Tuesday, Oct. 15, 5:30-7 p.m. at the Public Library

We love to get together and read! Kids at the 2013 Library Tea

by Margie Doyle

To many of us, public libraries are as sacred as the U.S. Constitution and the right to vote. They remain, in the words of Orcas Public Library Board President Rachel Newcombe, “the only free and absolutely democratic place that is welcoming to everyone.”

We Orcas Islanders love our library for its books (we have the highest per capita check-out rate by county in Washington state), and also for its public  and private spaces,where we can meet, confer, exchange information and go online. The Orcas Library Board has researched and questioned the need for expansion for a long time. Rachel Newcombe and Library Trustee Margaret Payne met with Orcas Issues to explain the current plan for expansion.

The expansion goal is driven by the “different roles the library plays as society changes,” says Newcombe. “When addressing the needs to meet others and expand thinking, a library will never be obsolete.”

Local studies, most recently a survey conducted last summer, show that the public want the same things the Library Board has identified as necessary for continuing to serve an informed and collegial public — quiet reading space, meeting rooms (the Library Conference room is used at no cost to various scheduled meeting groups nearly 365 days a year, including after-hours and weekends), privacy for internet users and for small conferences, and just a place to exchange anecdotes and set future appointments.

Newcombe came to lead the county-appointed group when past Library Board President Alan Lichter (who was a professor, poet, activist and County Commissioner) died last July. “Alan was a champion of library expansion,” Newcombe says.

All the information-gathering surveys show Orcas Islander love their books, and, adds Newcombe, “they are also asking for increased ‘people space’ such as public meeting rooms,  private reading areas, places for laptops usage and private rooms.”

A tour through the library now shows:

• four public-access computer stations out in the open in the middle aisle of the main library room
• four work station desks with dual occupancy possible at the southern windows
• the Young Adult section, perhaps the most critical need area, at the southwest corner of the library in a 100 sq. ft. area with one chair
• the reading room facing west is crowded with comfortable chairs and magazine racks; whether it is a quiet reading room or a place where conversations can happen depends on who is sitting in the chairs.
• the Conference Room is open to anyone except during scheduled, reserved events; but if more than one person or group hopes to use it, it can be difficult to use for private conversations, or computer work.

Expansion plans call for:

• computer workstations (and relocation of the computers currently in the center aisle of the main library),
• increased worktable space,
• creation of a quiet reading room,
• creation of two small group study rooms,
• improved shelving,
• an additional family friendly restroom,
• increased periodical space
• creation of one additional office
• additional storage

“Depending on the ultimate size of the project, the Board hopes to increase the size of the children’s area and provide a community services office where other Orcas Island service organizations can interact with the public,” according to the Board’s position paper.

Printed books continue to be the anchor of the library. Payne and Newcombe quote data on ebook reading which shows the electronic reading trend leveling off from triple-digit growth in the two-year period of 2009-11, while in 2012, the rate of growth was 44 percent. Only three percent of a Pew survey population read “only digitally.” Electronic reading is chiefly work-related or light reading. Printed books are still favored when it comes to research and pleasure reading.

The Orcas Library Board then, sees this expansion as redefining the scope of a library. Newcombe says, “We have a great board. We bring different talents, different perspectives, and right now we’re absolutely unified.”

“What characterizes a 21st-century library is a really exciting conversation,” says Margaret Payne; “it takes into account the relationship between humans and technology.”

She adds that libraries are also for pleasure:” for poking around, dreaming and indulging.”

And so, the Board has determined that it will “explore options for an expansion project that will meet current needs and allow the Library to meet emerging needs for the future,” a Board position paper states.

“As part of its budgeting process, the Board has accumulated a small capital improvements fund and has maintained donations received for building projects. In addition, the Friends of the Orcas Island Library have accumulated a fund intended for building improvements. Together these already existing funds amount to approximately $250,000.”

The total cost of expansion is projected to be approximately $750,000. This goal will be funded “by private funding, grants and funds already available for this purpose.”

The purpose of the library expansion is so that it will “continue to be the hub and heart of the community,” says Newcombe. “The Library exists for human contact, not just as a repository for printed books. Through conversation we get more. We need people to be the messengers of knowledge.”

The Library Board and staff welcome the public to its first meeting to explore the expansion this Tuesday, Oct. 15, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Library on 500 Rose Street in Eastsound, just east of Prune Alley. A number of project committees will be formed to explore various aspects of the project and make recommendations to the Board. Community members will be encouraged to volunteer for these committees as they will be crucial to the final decisions about the project, fund raising, public outreach, etc.

A future meeting is planned for Sunday, Oct. 27, from 1 – 2:30 p.m. at the Public Library

The Board states that “all members of our community be involved in the project in whatever ways they can. For some, that may mean attending meetings, for others it may mean making a significant monetary investment in the library. All donations or contributions of whatever size will be gratefully received and will be put directly toward the goals outlined above. Some methods for supporting the project are already in place, while others will be announced as they are developed and the need arises.”

Anyone can write or email questions and comments to the Board or Library Director at pheikkinen@orcaslibrary.org.