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Downtown Library 2012: 2nd Community Forum Update

by aadl-news

The second community forum to discuss the future of the downtown library was held Tuesday, June 12 from 7:00 -8:45 PM in the Multipurpose Room at the Downtown Library. We appreciate those who have chosen to spend time talking with us about 21st century library service at the forums held on June 9 and June 12. The third forum will be held Wednesday, June 20, from 7:00 - 8:45 PM in the 4th Floor Meeting Room of the Downtown Library. I am including the agenda and the content of our information boards, along with this video of the discussion in this message. This update also includes a video tour of some of the non-public areas of the downtown library. Tours will also be available to those attending the forum on June 20, however, the tour is not accessible. For those of you unable to attend, please don't hesitate to send your comments, questions or concerns to downtown@aadl.org or comment on this post. Josie Recording of June 12th Downtown Library Forum

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Infrastructure Tour

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AADL Public Engagement Process Community Forum Agenda 1. Welcome 2. Process Overview 3. Introduction 4. Information Stations - Children - Finances - Quiet Reading Room - Research/Archives - Meeting & Gathering Spaces - Infrastructure Tour Current Challenges & Potential Opportunities - Easel w/ Paper & marker for comments - Suggestion cards 5. Question & Answer 6. Close Opportunities for engagement: 3 Community Forums June 9th, 10 am – 12 pm June 12th, 7 pm – 9 pm June 20th, 7 pm – 9 pm Contact AADL: downtown@aadl.org. All questions and answers will be posted on the Director’s blog. Board Meetings: Board Room on the 4th floor of the Downtown Library: June 18th, 7 pm July 16th, 7 pm AADL Community Forum: Information Stations Children Challenges: - Limited opportunities for interactive learning in current space - Current story corner can accommodate events or play but not both - Size and capabilities of current space limit ability to meet needs of different ages Opportunities: - A room designed around flexible, upgradable interactive exhibits and play surfaces - Dedicated capacity for simultaneous play, events, and tours - A set of planned zones that support the varying developmental needs of kids from birth on Finance - AADL is a taxing authority independent of the City of Ann Arbor or AAPS - Operating on 1.55 mills (81% of the voter-approved 1.92 mills) since July 2009 - Property taxes account for over 90% of income - Three branch libraries opened on time & on budget, using $24 million from the operating millage Opportunity: - A $65 million dollar bond will provide funds to improve the Downtown Library, allowing AADL to continue to function within the existing operating millage. 

Property Market Value Property Taxable Value Library Bond Millage Per Year
$150,000 $75,000 $52
$200,000 $100,000 $69
$250,000 $125,000 $86
$300,000 $150,000 $104
$350,000 $175,000 $121
$400,000 $200,000 $138

Research/Archives Challenges: - Ann Arbor News Archives currently housed in rented space - Limited to no access for downtown patrons, researchers, or staff - Difficulty integrating archives content into ongoing projects Opportunities: - Provide a downtown space to appropriately house & display the Archives collections - Enable public access to the archives, possibly in conjunction with a new reading room - Develop research stations that allow safe use of delicate collections  Quiet Reading Room Challenges: - No room for dedicated, quiet work & reading space in current structure - Poor lighting, bad acoustics, insufficient access to power and data - New Branch reading rooms are comfortable, useful, and welcoming; need a similar destination downtown Opportunities: - Create a comfortable, quiet reading room with ample seating, working / reading space and a welcoming atmosphere - Provide good, energy-efficient lighting & natural daylight - Provide ample access to power and data Meeting & Gathering Spaces Challenges: - Insufficient individual & group study/meeting rooms to meet demand - Library events are limited by availability & capacity of downtown rooms - Event attendees frequently have to tolerate cramped, uncomfortable rooms with poor sightlines Opportunities: - Develop a diverse set of meeting and study rooms with ample electrical, data, and equipment access - Provide event venues capable of supporting a broad range of library & public event needs - Establish facility within the downtown library that can comfortably handle large turnouts Infrastructure Challenges: - Three building phases (1957, 1974, 1991) do not work together efficiently, with terribly inefficient & expensive heating and cooling systems that require expensive service and maintenance - Only 1 ADA accessible restroom in the building; No public restrooms or drinking fountain on the 3rd floor Challenges in safety & supervision of space - All three building phases pre-date the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Opportunities: - Utilize advances in green building technology to deliver a sustainable, high-capacity downtown library - Ensure convenient, accessible restroom facilities throughout the building - Develop spaces with ceiling heights and column spacing that allow intuitive wayfinding & supervision

Comments

This comment was received through downtown@aadl.org:
Dear Library Board & Staff:

I will be voting against the bond issue as presently contemplated and encourage my family and friends to do the same.

I feel that Ann Arbor is growing more and more out of touch with the growing economic pain being felt by the middle class. While each tax increase
or utility increase in and of itself may only amount to $60 to $90 per year, there has been a steady number of these increases each year (sidewalks, school technology, water/sewer rates, transit- pending, etc.).
I wish there was more concern about the "affordability" of our community and cost of living issues versus the current environment of spend, spend, spend to have the biggest and best of everything.

It would seem, that the satellite branch locations provide more convenient, shorter trips for the majority of library patrons. Therefore, I would be willing to support a smaller downtown branch, but not the current plan.

Thank you for soliciting my feedback.

Sincerely,
LBaird

The following was the response from AADL:
Mr. Baird,

Thank you very much for taking advantage of the opportunity to comment about the Downtown Library. The numbers used in the annarbor.com article are not determined nor is the size of any possible building project downtown. However, it would unlikely be a smaller facility than the current building. The Library Board has not decided to place a bond proposal on the ballot, but is asking for input which you have so graciously given. I hope that you can also attend the forum on June 20.

Regards,

Josie Parker

cool

This comment was received through the downtown@aadl.org account:

I vote for a new library and a bond proposal and tax to pay for it.
It is time for a total new building with all the new etchnologies.

Claire Turcotte
Ann Arbor resident

The following is the response from the Library:

Claire,
Thank you very much for your support of the Library. I appreciate your taking the time to post a comment.

Regards,

Josie

With regard to the Research/Archives section above. The three bullet points under "Opportunities" read as if they were thought of by someone living in a much different technological era than our current one. I think it would be a better use of human, building space, and technological resources to have the Ann Arbor News Archives scanned and/or transferred to microfilm (if non-digital archiving is desired). Even when I was in high school and college 20-30 years ago I didn't rely on actual printed original copies of newspapers for research - I used microfilm readers and properly indexed microfilm rolls. A much smaller amount of space could then be set aside for vault preservation of the original paper copies if desired. Scanning the originals would create the potential for making them more accessible (online) than any "reading room" could ever accomplish.

In reply to by deleuzean

deleuzean,

Thanks for your comments. I think that it will interest you to know that AADL is digitizing the Ann Arbor News and other papers as allowed by copyright and our agreements with rights holders. Currently, at [http://oldnews.aadl.org], you will find over 128,000 articles that AADL has digitized since acquiring this collection in 2009. We have found that a demand driven digitization model is more effective than choosing an arbitrary start point. We know that better access will lead to stronger demand, that will in time help develop a robust online collection of local newspapers and other documents regardless of their original format. This collection is available online to anyone looking from anywhere in the world. Connecting this archive and its online presentation with physical access in a building near a reading area will be a catalyst that drives interest and helps to determine the direction of the AADL digitization efforts. In short, we work very hard to do what people want us to do before they know they want it.

Josie

One of my favorite things in the downtown branch is the dedicated kid's area. It's great for my kids to be able to search for books on a subject that are at an appropriate level, rather than needing to look past adult non-fiction, and giving up from the difficulty. I look forward to improvements, and would likely support a millage for them.

eabranson,

Thank you very much for your comment and support. I felt the same way about the children's area downtown when I moved to Ann Arbor twenty years ago with my family. I am glad to know that you recognize improvements are necessary, and we look forward to the opportunity to meet your expectations.

Regards,

Josie

I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I don't think most of the reasons being given are all that convincing.
- The AA News archives should be digitized.
- I would want a third party with experience updating HVAC systems in place to give an assessment of the costs of renovations and whether they are needed.
- What downtown needs is meeting rooms like the one the library already has. It also isn't clear we need that many more of them.
- If we need fewer books, use that space for more meeting/study rooms, if needed.
- Servers should largely be moved off-site. We mostly need networking infrastructure downtown, and that should mostly be wireless.
- If we really needed to tear down and rebuild buildings to meet ADA requirements, we'd have to raze most US buildings. Again, we should get estimates from third party renovators, and think about whether we need more restrooms.

On the other hand, there will never be a better time to do this kind of work.
- Financing costs are currently at lifetime lows.
- The library has a strong credit rating to take advantage of that financing.
- Having just built the other branches, there is an opportunity to leverage them while the downtown space is being rebuilt.
- Construction costs should be near a lifetime low.
- Rebuilding would allow for a ground-loop heat-pump system to heat and cool the building, drastically reducing energy use and costs.

I think I'm still waiting for some new vision that would strongly warrant a new building. I'm not quite seeing it yet. Maybe something along the lines of "Better public access to information, literature, and the arts", and concentrate more on providing digital access. I've never used the computers at any of the libraries, but they sure seem to be in demand.

You could always win me over with some decent covered bike parking!

kjmclark,

Mixed feelings are actually good in this situation. You are asking all the right questions, and, unfortunately, the full discussions from the forums are not written up in the media. Please consider watching one, or more, of the three videos from the forums, and I think you will hear answers to most of your questions. If not, then let me know. We stated at those forums that the physical structural issues, while real, are not enough to warrant the extensive changes that we are discussing. Combined however with what you describe below in the second part of your message, the need for change is compelling.

We do talk about "better public access to information, literature and the arts" and we do it in the context of a rapidly changing digital environment. The vision is about building a public library structure for PEOPLE to continue to learn and read. I"m simplifying the message here, but I'm always glad to meet and talk with anyone about the Library.

As for the covered bike parking, I think you'll be happy to know that we will please you mightily and, perhaps, sooner than you imagine.

Josie

cool

This comment was received through downtown@aadl.org:

Hi, folks. Unfortunately, I missed the notice (which I easily found once I looked for it!) of the community forums. As a heavy downtown library user (for myself and my kids) I'd be happy to be part of your community inputs as you develop your plans for the future. If you've got a mailing list of folks to notify proactively I'd be happy to be on it.

Thanks,
Victoria

The response from the Library is below:

Victoria,
Thank you very much. We will look forward to talking with you, and appreciate your willingness to participate in this discussion.
Josie

The meeting room downtown really does need to be larger. It has been overflowing at every event I've gone to, especially the children's events. Hopefully acoustics could be good too.

I'm still surprised by the number of books the library doesn't have, and that I have to get from MelCat.

The branch meeting rooms are great, but, last time I checked, it was $50 to reserve one for any group meeting. I found that ridiculous, given that they sit empty much of the time.

A quiet space would be great, but think about a 'pink noise' machine, as utter silence itself can make coughing or sneezing, or shuffling papers distracting. Not sure of the cost. Also, signs that say "quiet room" don't really seem to dissuade noise-makers. A posted list of actual rules would be okay by me.

It would really be nice to build a new building, but it is such a bad time for us to vote to spend more money right now.

Good luck!

Erlipp,

Thanks so much for your comments. I am glad that you know about Melcat,
and that you use it to receive material that AADL does not own.
We will certainly take your thoughts on meeting spaces and quiet spaces
Into account as we move on into this discussion.

Josie

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