Slideshow courtesy of Moss Memorial Library. Photos by Harrison Keely.

Library report suggests possible future

By Harrison Keely, Editor

Somehow the plan is to raise up to $3 million dollars in two years to expand Moss Memorial Library.

 

"There is no doubt that the facility needs to be expanded," Dr. Daniel Barron told county residents July 17 at a meeting to discuss his findings from local interviews and surveys. "The library is a very, very important thing."

 

Barron, a Bakersfield, N.C. resident who taught library and public information science for 30 years at the University of South Carolina, said his job was only to present a preliminary final report and give suggestions while listening to opinions.

 

COMMUNITY OPINION

 

While conducting a survey online and in libraries for three weeks, Barron said he also interviewed approximately 66 people from the community for his findings.

 

Survey participants were entered in a contest to win $50, he said. Out of the 620 respondents total from four libraries in three counties, Moss Memorial contributed 398 responses, Barron said, more than the others combined.

 

"We had an excellent response rate," he said.

 

The finances for the survey came from the state library, Barron told those at the meeting.

 

"It's not coming from your pockets... Hopefully that gives it a significant amount of objectivity."

 

Barron said that it was important to determine weather a new library was a want or a need. Using statistics from the survey, he sought to provide an answer.

 

"Seventy-five percent of those people who use the library say they use it at least once a month," he said. "But... 50 percent of the users come weekly or more than once a week. That's significant."

 

According to the statistics, approximately 25 percent of visitors to the library are teens or pre-teen. Barron said he was very pleased with those results.

 

"We've really, really got to reach those kids because that's the next generation of either library users or library down-the-tubers," he said.

 

About 65 percent of library users are female, the reasearch found.

 

"One major reason [for that] is that the library is primarily open during the day and females have a tendency to be able to get there," he said. "That's just the way it works."

 

Twenty percent of survey respondents said that rarely used the library, mainly because of the poor parking situation. A combined 56 percent expressed a lack of interest in reading and the selection of books offered.

 

Parking at the library had the lowest satisfaction rate in the survey at just 39 percent while the helpfulness and friendliness of librarians ranked highest.

 

About 86 percent of library users said they would "definitely recommend" Moss Memorial Library to a new friend in town.

 

Results showed that most people use the library for independent learning and school research and homework. Another result showed that of those interested in learning about a topic, genealogy researched proved especially popular.

 

Barron said that he was impressed with the amount of positive feedback the survey garnered.

 

"This was the survey," he added. "My interviews with people were even more glowing."

 

EXPANSION AND CONSTRUCTION

 

While close to 30 percent of survey respondents said the library was not in need of physical change, 42 percent were in favor of renovating the current facility. An additional 30 percent wanted to see a new building.

 

North Carolina library standards suggest 16,000 square feet of space is an adequate size for Clay County's population, Barron said.

 

"Currently what we have is a 7,000 square feet building.... If we're going to build a new facility or if we're going to renovate, we should strive for as close to that standard as possible."

 

Barron cautioned that costs will likely be around $2 million per square foot or higher, due to the state of the national and local economy.

 

The vast majority of those in favor of building a new library said that they were unlikely to contribute, help raise money or pay more taxes for the cause.

 

The county should avoid raising taxes, Barron said, noting that there were still many other ways to accumulate funds.

 

Using images of an expanded library drawn up by students for the recent design charette, Barron showed off the possibility of a "green roof" on a new extension of the library.

 

"It's very expensive to start with but in the long term it's very effective," he said.

 

Such a roof lasts for 50-100 years and provides for geothermal heating and cooling, an "environmentally responsible" option.

 

The survey showed that all areas of the library needed to see expansion, from the children's and teen areas to quiet reading spots and computer labs.

 

Library expansion as a whole was taken seriously by the charette. Barron said, noting that it ranked third on the top issues affecting the town's future.

 

One possible reason for the interest is because of the wide technological interest at the library.

 

"The big deal right now is using the library for access to the Internet," he said. "Electronic access is tremendously important in rural areas."

 

Statistics back Barron up. Frequent e-mail and wireless access users make up a large percentage of library patrons. He said interviews also suggested that the library needed to improve lighting and begin a campaign to discard clutter in the building.

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