<< Back 5/21/03 Library should stay in downtown Sylva To the Editor: Our community has spoken out in strong opposition of moving the Jackson County Public Library from our county’s seat in downtown Sylva to the academic campus of SCC in Webster. Over 2,000 signatures were gathered in the last weeks, and many letters to the editor of The Sylva Herald have expressed residents’ concerns. There are many possible solutions to upgrading and improving our county’s public library without moving outside of the heart of our community. The current location of our public library is a key component in the success of our county seat’s renewal and revitalization efforts. Keeping our library downtown is vital to our community’s future. One solution is to expand into the existing historic county courthouse. A combined county museum would also complement that site. Expansion would be further possible by building on in the back of the courthouse where the old county jail is about to be abandoned. The current public library could then be converted into a community center, a Kudzu playhouse, a commercial property, additional parking or even combined as a location for the Friends of The Library used bookstore. The possibilities for what to do with the existing building are limited only by our imagination. Another solution would be to redesign and engineer the current library building to support a second floor. Properties directly behind the library are currently for sale. The acquisition of this land could be used for additional parking or further building expansion at a much lower cost than building at SCC. And lastly, there are several privately owned empty properties downtown. One lot in particular near Scotts Creek could easily accommodate a newly constructed modern library facility. Money could be raised in a similar fashion as our downtown playground was built by the community, for the community. Keep our library downtown, and show up at the public meeting on Thursday May 22, at 6 p.m. at SCC to voice your concerns. For more information, see www.wnc.us/kold. (Jason Kimenker of Sylva is the chairperson for the Sustainable Business Community of the Tuckaseegee watershed region. He and his wife are proprietors of Soul Infusion Tea House & Bistro in Sylva. He welcomes comments at jason@wnc.us)