
DATE: Thursday, November 27, 1997           TAG: 9711270674

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LOUIS HANSEN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   73 lines

AS SUFFOLK LIBRARY GROWS, CITY PLEDGES $4.3 MILLION FOR IT

Given these heady times in securities trading, it might come as little surprise that a Suffolk institution has seen an average annual growth rate of 55 percent since 1986.

This institution also is scheduled to receive a $4.3 million cash infusion from the city by the turn of the century.

But don't skip straight to the business page - this bull market is in books.

The Morgan Memorial Library, founded in 1957 by a gift from a local family, has grown exponentially since its move to new downtown quarters on West Washington Street in 1986. Just look at the numbers:

In one decade, it has gone from just 4,800 card holders to more than 29,000; from two computers to 38; from 60,000 books and magazines to 117,000; from 96,000 circulation to 257,000.

But with steady growth comes problems. Library director Elliot Drew said succinctly: ``It's room, it's space.''

Last week, the City Council announced plans to allocate $4.3 million in capital funds over the next five years to expand or replace the library's main facility.

Mayor Thomas G. Underwood, an avid reader and library booster, said the new funds should ensure that the library will keep pace with the growing city into the next century.

``The general public deserves and needs a good library,'' he said. The wide popularity of the library, he said, shows that residents, ``want to be better informed.''

The council is scheduled to vote on the 10-year, citywide $225 million capital improvements plan in December.

The council can change the plan annually, but Underwood said the current council seemed supportive of paying for library improvements.

As proposed, the council will set aside $300,000 in 1998 for preliminary studies and spend $4 million in 2000 for expansion or replacement of the West Washington Street facility.

Building a strong library system was not as easy as throwing money at librarians.

``It's not an overnight success,'' Drew said, reluctantly taking a break from the busy front desk.

It was much quieter when Drew arrived in 1986.

By all accounts, the Suffolk Public Library at its old quarters on Bosley Avenue was stuffy, inadequate and dusty.

``It was one of the worst I've ever seen,'' Drew said. ``The staff spent most of its time apologizing for what we didn't have.''

The city agreed to finance a renovation, and eventually the collection moved into a former furniture showroom two blocks from City Hall.

Cheerier, more spacious and centrally located, the new facility became a computer-linked hub for the library's three branches and bookmobile.

With the expanded facility came additional funds for book collection and children's reading programs. The stampede began.

The one, large rectangular library room now attracts as many as 400 children for summer reading programs.

The readings draw eager young listeners from Isle of Wight and Gates County, N.C. ``We've become famous,'' Drew said. ``People come from other communities.''

Drew and his staff constantly shift stacks and cubicles to clear open space for other gatherings. Gradually, empty space has become harder to find.

Underwood said it's another part of the plan to boost downtown Suffolk. After all, knowledge is power.

``There's nothing `new,' '' Underwood said, ``just things you haven't read about.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

JOHN H. SHEALLY II/The Virginian-Pilot

Morgan Memorial Library director Elliot Drew says growth has been

hampered by a lack of space. The number of card holders has grown

from 4,800 to 29,000 in a decade, and from 96,000 circulation to

257,000.