Hayesville Design Charrette Illustration PRELIMINARY PLANS: A drawing of an expanded library shows space for more parking and a rerouted Anderson Road between the parking lot and the Community Service Center.

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.

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 the eventual cost for the library will range around $2 million or higher, due to the state of the national and local economy.

The vast majority of those in favor of building a new li- brary 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.

E-mail Harrison at hkeely@ smokymountainsentinel.com.