ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, August 7, 1996 TAG: 9608070070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
Roanoke must build a new $24 million library with improved technology and adequate parking if it is going to meet community needs, a consultant said Tuesday.
And the city may have to consider closing branch libraries that are underutilized, including that in the Historic Gainsboro district, said Dick Waters, of the Denton, Texas-based consulting firm Providence Associates.
"Closing libraries is an extremely difficult thing to do," Waters said at a public hearing in the basement auditorium of the Main Library in downtown Roanoke.
Waters was hired this spring to conduct an analysis of Roanoke's libraries. The city's library system includes the Main Library and five branch libraries - the Gainsboro, Melrose and Williamson Road branches in Northwest, Jackson Park branch in Southeast and Raleigh Court branch in Southwest.
The study did not include the city law library, housed in the city courthouse.
With Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem residents having been able to share library services since 1991, "we needed to step back and get an objective look at the our system," said Beverly James, Roanoke city librarian.
Providence Associates - along with Hill Studio, an architectural firm in Roanoke, and the Roanoke-based engineering firm Lawrence Perry & Associates - looked at the structural soundness of the library buildings, potential for expansion, compliance with codes, technological upgrading and whether libraries were in the best locations.
Their study said that in 20 years, use of the Main Library will increase 5.75 percent; the Raleigh Court branch 0.14 percent and the Williamson Road branch 3.43 percent. Use of the Gainsboro branch is projected to drop 20 percent, Melrose branch 10 percent and Jackson Park branch 7.93 percent.
There is an overlap in service area for the Main Library and the Gainsboro and Jackson Park branches, Waters said. The two branches are within a two-mile radius of the Main Library, which could account for their low usage. Use of the Gainsboro branch alone has dropped 60 percent in five years, Waters said.
Roanoke could offer good library services with an improved, expanded main library and no more than three branch libraries. The Williamson Road, Raleigh Court and Melrose branches are properly placed, with no overlap in service area, Waters said.
But Roanoke "doesn't need Gainsboro and Jackson Park because of their proximity to the Main Library," he said.
Some of the 20 residents who attended Tuesday's hearing interpreted the recommendation to close the Gainsboro branch as an ill-timed swipe at an area that has had more than its share of neighborhood upheaval.
"To take the library is to say that Gainsboro is no more," said George Heller, a Gainsboro resident. "It would really leave a void. The library is sort of a symbol for the neighborhood.
"I don't think the community would give in to that very quickly."
Some of the consultants' other findings:
That the Main Library needs 111,000 square feet of space, almost double its current space. The projected cost of building a new library that size - not including site acquisition and parking - is $24 million.
That the existing library buildings are not in good locations. Waters said libraries today are better located in commercial areas rather than residential. All of Roanoke's branch libraries are in residential areas.
That the lack of parking at the Main Library is a substantial weakness. Waters suggested, as an immediate solution, that the city consider acquiring the paid parking lot across from the library entrance on Jefferson Street and designate it for library use.
That very soon, all of the branch libraries will be due for improvements such as handicapped-accessible bathrooms and new heating systems.
James said the consultants' recommendations are preliminary. A final report will be presented to City Council and the library's board in one month, she said. Until then, residents may offer comments in writing or by phone.
"This has given us a lot to think about," James said of the recommendations. "We had no preconceived notions."
Written comments may be dropped off at the Main Library and branch libraries. Or comments may be made by calling the city librarian's office at 981-2475.
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