In Carson City, our public library is a community center: a gathering place for youth, families, the retired and civic groups; a cool spot to read on a hot summer's day; an open door to the Internet's information and opportunity; and an affordable (free!) source of books, music and movies.
The problem is that Carson City's population is exceeding the capacity of the physical library space, like a child whose winter coat no longer fits. The lack of useable, flexible space for books, computer use, reading, writing, and meeting is obvious to today's library users.
And there are many of them. Sara Jones, Carson City's library director, says that our library serves 250,000 visitors per year, and maintains about 35,000 book-borrowing library cards, although only 60 percent of visitors have a card.
The library conducted a survey recently which showed support for the library's services, demand for more hours, and an appreciation of the centralized convenience of one library that serves the needs of the entire community.
Ms. Jones and library board members Frieda Ford and Phyllis Patton are just back from checking out the Laramie County Library in Cheyenne, Wyoming. There they discovered a busy, vital and new library that employs energy efficiency and natural lighting to enhance the innovative use of space, a children's library with carpet room for story time, and open comfortable areas for reading and gathering. They found a library that is a functional and modern center for a growing western capital city, just as Carson is.
We too need a spacious children's section with separate space to capture the interests of teens. We require the shelf space and flexible layout to accommodate new books without tossing the old. We should enhance computer and Internet availability at the library. For many people the library is their only access to the Internet which is how government and private industry increasingly do business.
The spirit of life is present at our library. Drop by on a Saturday and observe the families who visit the library as part of their weekend ritual. This Saturday, October 4, the library hosts the largest annual book sale, held in coordination with its traditional Oktoberfest celebration fundraiser at the Pony Express Pavilion in Mills Park.
Carson City has a true opportunity to create a community gathering place in the new library that that we now need.
As candidates for Mayor and Board of Supervisors ask for your vote this fall, question them about the future of the library and ask them to be at the heart of a community wide effort to fund, build and sustain a community library that is worthy of our capital and Carson City's promising future.
Fresh Ideas: Starting conversations by sharing personal perspectives on timely and timeless issues.
Abby Johnson is a resident of Carson City, and a part-time resident of Baker, Nevada. She consults on community development and nuclear waste issues. Her opinions are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of her clients.