01/25/1988 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e stress information, education, and technology, all of which was embodied in books--either printed, video, electronic, or micrographic. Mr. Waters said the future Eugene library would be, "first and foremost, a people place; it'll be a place where ideas will come together and people will come together to talk about those ideas and to access the information and the knowledge that the library will have--where they will refine their existing skills and where they'll refocus on new needs to deal with the future that is before them." Mr. Waters said the library would be a public project, and it had been his experience with libraries allover the country that citizens would pay for services rendered. He said an average of 2,000 people visited the Eugene library daily, which indicated strongly that the library was rendering a service. He said 249 new libraries had been built across the country in the past year, including five in Oregon, and many more were being planned by cities and citizens who were making a statement for information, education, and technology. Mr. Waters said the committee had presented a plan and a vision of the next century. He said that plan was ambitious and would need the support of the community. He read a quote from Barbara Tuchman, "Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, thought and speculation at a standstill. Without books, the development of civilization would have been impossible. They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind. Books are humanity in print." . e Mr. Waters said he was committed to helping libraries everywhere, and he endorsed the report, adding that the sizing recommended was right and would take the community well into the next century. Mayor Obie opened the public hearing. Sam Frear, 4734 Brookwood Street, president of Friends of the Eugene Library and a member of the Library Committee, spoke in support. Mr. Frear said it was no surprise that a new library was wanted. He said evidence of the inadequacy of the existing facility and the need for a new library to take the community into the next century were abundantly clear for reasons such as attracting new business to Eugene and symbolizing and demonstrating proudly the commitment to quality of life in Eugene. He said he envisioned the new library as part of future tours of Eugene, and he asked the community to be bold and imaginative on the subject. William Sweetland, 1251 Courtney Place, said he realized that siting was the first important issue, but he felt a responsibility to another factor that seemed almost overlooked in new construction of public buildings, and that was the architecture itself. He said he could cite several examples of architectural designs in the area that had wasted money, and he hoped the community would question the efficiency of the architect's design. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 25, 1988 Page 3