by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Plans for a branch library in Sartell are at a virtual standstill and may not even materialize – whether in a community center or as a free-standing facility – if the standstill continues.
Meantime, the Great River Regional Library system is waiting for a response from the Sartell City Council, said GRRL Director Karen Pundsack.
The biggest snag is a requirement by the GRRL system that a branch facility in Sartell should be a minimum of 12,500 square feet – far more (at least twice as big) than planners of a Sartell Community Center had decided upon. That larger requirement would put the library branch in the multi-million-dollar range, far beyond what was in the plans, said Sartell City Administrator Mary Degiovanni in a Sept. 14 interview with the Sartell Newsleader.
There is also a problem with the chosen site for the Sartell Community Center, the one in south Sartell. The city council voted 3-2 for that site, as opposed to sites more centrally located in the city. Their choice has generated disagreement from many Sartell residents who favored a central location. The GRRL also disagrees with the site. In a memo to Degiovanni, dated Sept. 3, the GRRL Library Assessment Team stated:
“The current site chosen is not a viable option for GRRL. We would not support providing services to this location due to the following,” and then the memo lists the reasons why not:
- It’s only three miles from the Waite Park branch library and 5.7 miles to the St. Cloud library.
- Moving a site any further south than the Sartell City Hall area would be outside the parameters of what GRRL allows.
- The proposed 6,500 square feet (or less) for a library is inadequate for a city the size of Sartell when projected growth over 20 years is taken into account.
GRRL input
Once the GRRL gets responses from the Sartell City Council, it will continue negotiations with Sartell to come up with a branch-library concept.
In a Sept. 15 interview with the Sartell Newsleader, GRRL Executive Director Pundsack and Julie M. Henne, associate director of public relations, cautioned that unless there is unanimous, enthusiastic support from city leadership (Sartell council and staff), any proposed project would be impossible.
Henne said GRRL board members have heard from many Sartell residents about points made in the Sept. 3 GRRL memo and that most fully support the memo points.
Henne said in her opinion, the library issue is not quite at a standstill. She did confirm the community-center site in south Sartell would be unacceptable for a branch library. However, building a library separately from a community center is not a solution because it would be too costly, according to analyses by consultants hired by the Sartell City Council.
Henne said GRRL’s Assessment Team is more than willing to talk further with Sartell city officials and to negotiate. That, she said, should start to take place as soon as the GRRL hears from the city council.
Complications
Degiovanni acknowledges library plans have reached a standstill of sorts. Meantime, the devil is in the details.
She said the dilemma stems from misunderstandings and indecisions about what a “library of the future” should look like and contain. In communications with GRRL staff, Degiovanni with council approval agreed a branch library in the city of Sartell could be – as per GRRL’s goal – an innovative library of the future.
But what exactly is such a library to look like? What will it contain? What services would it provide? How much will it cost to operate in up-front costs and maintenance costs?
Those are just some of the questions Degiovanni asked the GRRL Library Assessment Team. The memo from that team, referred to above, was an attempt to answer questions submitted by Degiovanni.
The following are summaries of the questions and the answers:
- How big would a branch library have to be if it were to be built at the Sartell City Hall site, separate from a community center?
It would have to be a minimum of 12,515 feet, based on space-needs analysis and the size of the Sartell service area.
In addition to that minimum size, GRRL would expect the city of Sartell to provide an opening-day collection of 26,250 items (books, etc.), in addition to 8,750 items from the existing GRRL floating collection. The cost to acquire that many items, at an average of $19 per item, would be $498,750.
- What alternative services could we (Sartell) look into?
Degiovanni then listed several alternatives as questions for the GRRL staff. The following are summaries of main memo points:
Alternative 1: Create just a children’s library area.
GRRL response: Without dedicated library space, GRRL would not likely recommend offering programming, and such a space could be achieved by the city of Sartell without GRRL’s help.
Alternative 2: Set up teen/adult community-room spaces, such as two or three rooms within a community center. However, if those spaces are not dedicated solely as library-services spaces, GRRL would not recommend conducting programming for those areas.
GRRL response: See the GRRL response to the question about a children’s library space.
Alternative 3: The Olathe, Kansas Community Center has a “Library on the Go” service, which is a locker system with a kiosk, which people can operate to get access to the library system in Olathe. The concept is similar to a vending machine of sorts.
GRRL response: Such a system would not work well for a city the size of Sartell, according to the GRRL memo. And, in addition, that system is only one part of library services offered in Olathe.
Alternative 4: A fireside-lounge-type space where groups of people could relax with newspapers and magazines provided by GRRL.
GRRL response: GRRL does not pay for materials that are left in unstaffed spaces. This alternative, like the other three suggested, are possible for Sartell to do without GRRL involvement.
Library of Future
Many people mistakenly think that, with the prevalence of electronic media and at-home computers, libraries are soon to be a thing of the past.
Not so, according to GRRL.
Surveys, including one done by GRRL, indicate more than 90 percent of library patrons use the library to check out books and/or magazines. More than 70 percent say they also use it to check out audio books or music CDs. Sixty percent said patrons use DVDs and or videos. Other uses rated less than 30 percent of responses.
The GRRL memo sent to Degiovanni lists the hallmarks of what should constitute a library of the future. They include more square footage than traditional libraries, flexible space, space for technology, additional shared community space, places to “unplug” called “unplug zones” or “digital-escape places,” capacity for technological changes and growth, and more teen and adult spaces than traditional libraries offer.
According to GRRL, 3,841 Sartell residents are listed as borrowers at the St. Cloud Library and 530 are listed as patrons of the Waite Park branch library.
