12/08/1986 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Jim Saul, 2780 Elinor, Vi ce Cha i rperson of the Future of Our Library Committee, said the committee decided new facilities for the library should be e considered because the population of Eugene has doubled since the present building was constructed in 1959, the number of volumes in the library has increased from 57,000 to over 250,000 since 1959, the library's annual circulation has increased to 1.2 million, about 400,000 people use the library annually, and about 1,200 meetings are held in the library annually. He said the airport probably is the most-used public facility and the library probably is the second most-used facility in the city. In planning for new facilities, Mr. Saul said the committee considered the many services the library provides. He reviewed the reasons why the committee recommended a future library of 90,000 to 120,000 square feet. He said the committee decided that an adequate main library is essential and that branch libraries should not be considered until later. Mr. Saul said several City documents indicate that the main library should be in the downtown. He said the purpose of the siting criteria in the report is to identify the best site for a future library. The committee indicated a weighting system for the siting criteria in the report. The criteria are: size of site, financing and cost considerations, access i bil i ty, public support/ease of acquisition, land use considerations, parking availability, and impact of the library on surrounding traffic patterns. Mayor Obie opened the public hearing. . Martha Rice, 2610 Highland Oaks Drive, said she represented a special committee formed by the Eugene Library Board of Trustees, the Friends of the e Library, and the Eugene Library Foundation. The committee has initiated a campaign to raise $200,000 for new library books. She said 80 percent of the library's books are over five years old and last year 8,500 books that were worth almost $170,000 were removed from the shelves because they were worn out. She said the library's annual book budget is only $90,000. The American Library Association estimates that five percent of a library's books should be replaced annually. That would cost $250,000 each year. She said problems have compounded because the library's book budget has not been adequate for several years. Ms. Rice said the organizations supporting the book acquisition campaign recognize that funding the library is a City responsibility. The campaign is a one-time effort to slow the deterioration of the book collection until a long-term solution is found. She asked the counci lors to support the campaign. She distributed a brochure titled 1I0verdue--Time to Renew.1I There being no additional requests to testify, Mayor Obie closed the public hearing. Mr. Holmer said the recommendations in the Preliminary Report are very broad and he is not prepared to approve them without knowing about costs. He referred specifically to the report's third recommendation which states that plans for satellite library facilities should be put into effect within five years of completion of the main library. Ms. Decker responded that e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 8, 1986 Page 2