What:
Public hearing about proposed joint library project between Southwestern
Community College, the Fontana Regional Library, and Jackson County
that would be located at SCC campus on N.C. 116
When: 6 p.m., Thursday, May 22
Where: SCC auditorium
A proposal to move Jackson County’s main library out of downtown
Sylva has upset many residents, but supporters say it is the best
way to get the kind of library that is needed.
Some Jackson County leaders are backing a plan to build a joint library
with Southwestern Community College on its Webster campus. By joining
forces, residents could get a $6 million, 25,000-square-foot facility
with every imaginable amenity.
The opportunity for a win-win resolution to this issue may be fading
as two different objectives — the best library possible given
a tight fiscal situation and downtown revitalization — seem
to be colliding. Those on different sides of the issue share many
of the same concerns, but so far they have offered up different compromises.
Those with whom the final decision rests, though, are leaning toward
the joint proposal. County Commission Chairman Stacy Buchanan said
Friday (May 16) that the issue could come up for discussion and vote
as early as June.
“This is one of those issues that it’s going to be hard
to please every one,” said Buchanan, who has talked about the
issue with many citizens and has received lots of correspondence.
“But I’m waiting to hear something that is going to change
my mind. If I don’t, then after the public hearing I’ll
put it on the June 10 agenda to discuss, and then on June 17 vote
to go ahead and hire an architect.”
At the May 13 commissioners’ meeting, both Commissioner Roberta
Crawford and County Manager Ken Westmoreland were upbeat about the
joint proposal when questioned by a reporter.
Joyce Moore, who owns City Lights Bookstore in downtown Sylva, is
the spokesperson for KOLD (Keep Our Library Downtown). She has a degree
in library science and says there are several reasons for opposing
the joint proposal.
“Opposition to the move centers around concerns about a conflict
of missions and operations between a public and academic library,
accessibility to senior citizens and young children and the negative
economic impact on the revitalization efforts of downtown Sylva,”
she wrote in a statement that came from the group.
More than 2,000 people have signed petitions opposing the Webster
library proposal, the Sylva Town Board and Sylva Partners in Renewal
(a downtown business organization) adopted resolutions opposing it,
and the community newspaper The Sylva Herald criticized the idea in
a May 8 editorial: “A community library, a place where many diverse
groups are welcome, should be a source of unification and not conflict.
Let’s all work together toward finding the solution that will
keep our county library downtown where it belongs.”
The old and the new
There’s little disagreement on one issue: Sylva needs a better
library.
The 6,400-square-foot library opened in 1970 and was paid for with
$20,000 in bond money passed by Jackson County voters plus state
and federal funds. The library is operated by the Fontana Regional
Library System, which also operates the Cashiers Library and those
in Macon and Swain counties.
The building is cramped, poorly lit and ill-equipped to handle children’s
programming and other special events. Room for reading newspapers
and magazines has been reduced as the library has shuffled around
shelves and chairs to accommodate different needs. A 1999 space
needs report that was based on 1998 user numbers — which means
it is now five years old — had this to say: “Simply put,
the present library is too small. This condition is hindering the
county’s ability to serve ... the citizens of Jackson County.”
It recommended a 14,900-square-foot facility based on 9,551 users.
Last year, there were 13,707 users, meaning use has increased by
44 percent in just five years.
Dr. Cecil Groves, the president of Southwestern Community College,
says a 7-member task force of college and Fontana Library officials
have been researching the challenges and opportunities of a joint
library since March 2002. Although there are no similar facilities
in North Carolina, the task force looked at seven joint facilities
around the country, said Dr. Gene Couch, the SCC vice president
for instructional services who chaired the task force. It concluded
that the two different missions of a public library and a college
library can be reconciled in one facility.
“I’m sorry this has taken on this tone, but our position
is not that we should withdraw our offer,” said Dr. Groves.
“The issue for us is that we intend to go on with development
of a new library as part of our long-range plan. The research shows
we can do it with the county and build a great library to serve
the needs of the county and our students. If (the county) chooses
to stay downtown, that’s OK too.”
Moore, however, says the differing missions will make it difficult
to combine the two facilities under one roof.
“A few examples of joint use libraries exist in large metropolitan
areas, but all of these involve branches of the public library,
not the central public library facility,” she said.
Moore said the fear is that it would become an academic library
that would not serve children and the public.
“It is hard for me to imagine that a library on the campus
of a community college would not soon take on the atmosphere of
an academic library rather than a public library, so that soon Jackson
County would have two academic libraries and no library to meet
the needs of the general community,” she said.
Buchanan, the county board chairman, disagrees with that assessment:
“The mission of this library will be whatever we say it is,
so we can make sure it serves the needs of the people of Jackson
County.”
If the library is built, it would be located on land the college
has acquired from the N.C. Forest Service that abuts N.C. 116, and
therefore users would not have to go through campus, said Groves.
Buchanan, Groves and Fontana Regional Library System Director Gail
Findlay pointed out that SCC trains childcare workers, and that
children’s activities could benefit from this. Buchanan also
pointed out that the county owns 39 acres across the highway and
plans to locate its Council on Aging and a senior center on the
land. Discussions have been held with the DOT to build a tunnel
under the road, providing easy access for seniors. Buchanan also
pointed out that Fairview Elementary and Smoky Mountain High School
were very close to the proposed site.
Groves said the new library would also have a coffee shop and house
the college’s bookstore. Also, it would be able to expand hours
until 9 p.m. weeknights and stay open about 30 percent longer than
the county library does now. Eventually, he envisions a wellness/fitness
center nearby, something that would also be available for public
use.
Where’s the money?
Few local government issues go far before money becomes a critical
element in the debate, and this one is no different.
SCC has more than $6 million left in state bond money, and in order
to spend it the county has to put up a $4 million match. If the
county built its own library, it would still be obligated to put
up the match. This way, it gets a library for all its citizens while
still meeting the obligations of the statewide community college
bond referendum.
“The county could put up $2.5 million and have a mediocre library
or it could go in with SCC and Fontana and build something we could
all be proud of for a long time,” said Ken Westmoreland, the
county manager.
Also, Buchanan told Sylva Mayor Brenda Oliver last week that he
would ask commissioners to match Sylva dollar for dollar if it wants
to pay operating costs to keep a branch library downtown.
“We’ve sharpened our pencils and think we can keep a presence
downtown,” said Michael Cartwright, the Jackson County librarian.
According to Findlay, it would cost about $40,000 a year to keep
a branch open, but that is if all the special programming is in
the new library.
The lifeblood of downtown
“A town is a living, dynamic entity, and it must be maintained,”
says Moore. “Just as a garden needs seeds, nutrients and water
to grow, a real town needs a diverse mix of ingredients to remain
healthy. A library is one of those ingredients.”
That argument has found a lot of supporters, and it is one that
even those who support moving the library to Webster empathize with.
Several years ago, a plan was hatched to expand the library by moving
or razing the Hooper House and expanding in that direction. However,
efforts to renovate the house took off and therefore boxed in the
library. Other potential downtown sites, according to Buchanan,
have simply not held up when scrutinized against the needs of the
library.
“We looked at the old courthouse, but old folks didn’t
like the walk and others wanted to see it become a museum,”
said Buchanan. “We just didn’t find a site that worked.”
Buchanan said he supports downtown revitalization efforts, but he
thinks selling the current building and opening a branch library
in another location might better help downtown.
“If we can get a business with jobs in that building, and a
branch library elsewhere downtown, wouldn’t that help more?”
asked Buchanan.
Diane Fennell, who was at the downtown library last week, has worked
for 10 years as continuing education night course coordinator at
SCC. She likes the idea of two facilities — a new, large library
at the college plus one downtown.
“... I think it would be good for them to have research books
over there, but for children’s books and popular fiction to
stay here,” Fennell said.
