library
At 7:00 pm on Tuesday night, at the Southern Orange Human Services center at 2501 Homestead Rd in Chapel Hill, the Orange County Comissioners will discuss the Orange County Public Library Draft Strategic Plan for 2013 - 2016. The draft plan can be found in the Work Session agenda (PDF) on the county website.
The last time the library was discussed at the BOCC, the county staff suggested that the plan, which is being written up by Dr. Anthony Chow, an assistant professor in the Department of Library Science at UNC-Greensboro, would be critical to informing the site selection of the Southern Branch of the Orange County Library. The plan begins on page 29 of the PDF after Dr. Chow's Curriculum Vitae.
Appendix A provides a link to a Library Needs Assessment with a completion date of January 2, 2013, which seems to be much more substantive, containing significant amounts of qualitative and quantitative data.
http://orangecountync.gov/library/documents/ocpl_community_needs_analysis_2013.pdf
A free and public event exploring civic engagement and social justice
issues is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, May 20, at the Chapel Hill Public
Library's Program Space in University Mall across from Alfredo's Pizza.
Please share the EVENT FLIER.
"Voices of Action: Translating Words into a Movement" is organized
by the Chapel Hill Public Library and the Town of Chapel Hill Justice in
Action Committee. The public is invited to attend and participate in an
interactive workshop and discussion to consider questions such as "What
makes you want to act?" "How do you engage?" and "How can your voice be
powerful?" The purpose of this event is to encourage creative
expression of opinion and support participants as they recognize the
power of words and find their individual voices.
The event will be facilitated by the Sacrificial Poets (http://sacrificialpoets.com),
North Carolina's premier youth poetry organization. You don't have to
be a poet or even write poetry to attend. If you appreciate spoken word,
want to learn more, or you just have something to say about social
justice, LGBT rights, Occupy, racism, fracking, environmentalism,
immigration reform, or a host of other issues, this program is for you.
"We are excited to be involved because librarians are advocates of
intellectual freedom," said Maggie Hite, head of circulation services.
"And our library is a trusted, safe space for civic engagement."
Many residents are more comfortable expressing divergent ideas at
libraries because they are neutral places that advance knowledge through
freedom of expression and critical inquiry, Hite said. The Chapel Hill
Public Library supports the idea that civic reflection builds community
connections.
Formed by the Town Council, the role of the Justice in Action
Committee is to give voice to issues and concerns regarding race and
power in Chapel Hill and the surrounding community; and to educate the
Chapel Hill community through workshops and seminars on issues of
racism, diversity and inclusiveness. The committee meets at 6 p.m. on
the first Thursday of most months at Chapel Hill Town Hall. For more
information, contact [email protected]. For more information about Sunday's program, see www.chapelhillpubliclibrary.org or contact [email protected].
Date:
Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Location:
Chapel Hill Public Library's Program Space, University Mall
Below is the body of an email sent by me this morning to members of the Chapel Hill - Carrboro City School (CHCCS) Board, the CHCCS Public Foundation, and the Carrboro Board of Aldermen.
A full-service library has been at the top of Carrboro's community facilities wish list for decades. So, the recent announcement of a contract to purchase a 2.7-acre site at 210 Hillsborough Road (see map) was, in some ways, welcome news. Unfortunately, however, it is not clear that this site will fulfill Carrboro's dream of a place downtown for the community to gather and learn.
I just received the following memo from the Town of Chapel Hill email list. It shares some info on a proposal to move the town library permanently to University Mall. You can find it
here on the Town of Chapel Hill website too.
TO: Council
FROM: Mark Kleinschmidt, Mayor
SUBJECT: University Mall Library Proposal
DATE: November 22, 2010
During discussions regarding the temporary relocation of Chapel Hill library to University Mall, Madison-Marquette, the mall's owners, expressed to our staff their interest in exploring the possibility of permanently locating the library at the Mall. The proposal would be for a mall anchored at one end by A Southern Season, and at the other by the Chapel Hill Public Library, which they propose would occupy the current Dillard's Department Store space.
Another bit of woolgathering speculation, this time prompted by headlines about the closing of the Chapel Hill Museum and letters linking it with the funding voted for library exansion as an either-or choice.
In the town where I grew up, one room of the library was devoted to town history, a full gallery of maps, artifacts, letters, photos, etc. In the process of visiting libraries for some academic research, I discovered that many town libraries house town-history collections of varying scope, often showcased around the building if not featured in a specific room.
I have reviewed a lot of letters sent to the Chapel Hill Town Council about whether or not the Town should move forward on expansion of our Library. Letters fall on either side of the issue, but in letters against expansion, I see a theme. Writers often want it known that they are a fan of books, but they don't want to pay more taxes toward making more available to Library users.
At last night's Chapel Hill Town Council meeting a decision was put off regarding the Town Manager's recommendation to move forward and issue the voter-approved bond for the Library expansion. There were two major issues. First, the anticipated operating expenses for the expanded Library would result in a tax rate increase of $0.0113. This would add about $34 to the tax bill of a homeowner with an appraised house value of $300,000. Second, several Council members were concerned about moving forward until Orange County commits to a more equitable funding of the Library since 40% of the users and 40% of the circulation is by Orange County, non-CH residents.
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