What to do with 6 acres quot
Library surveys public for ideas
VOORHEESVILLE The Voorheesville Public Library is hoping to generate "some good conversation" around town about its future, says Gail Sacco, the library’s director.
Last September, residents of the Voorheesville School District voted in favor of a $150,000 land acquisition proposal. The overcrowded library purchased 5.6 acres of land adjacent to its existing building on School Road in Voorheesville for $100,000, and will spend $50,000 to plan how to use it.
A survey has been posted on the librarys website, voorheesvillelibrary.org, to generate ideas and give the librarys board of trustees a sense of what residents would like to see happen with the library, Sacco said.
"We have seven acres of land to create a cultural center for the school district," she said, referring to the new land along with the existing 1.5-acre site.
The library has taxing powers and follows school-district boundaries.
"We want some idea of what people who live here would like to see, before the board goes forward with trying to put a plan together," said Sacco. She encourages everyone in town to participate in the survey. It will be available until Dec. 1.
Paper copies of the survey are available at the library, where staff is more than willing to help people use the computer, Sacco said. The paper surveys are more costly, as the information then needs to be keyed into the computer, she siad.
"It should be people who have something to say and it doesn’t have to be someone who uses the library regularly. Everyone who pays taxes supports the library," she said. "However we proceed impacts everyone in the district," said Sacco.
Thus far, only about 5 percent of residents have completed the survey, Sacco said. The board is pushing to increase that, she said. Originally, the survey was going to remain posted only until Oct. 22, but the board opted to continue it to increase the feedback.
The trend, at this point, seems to be that space for young adults is needed, as well as additional space suitable for people with special needs, Sacco said. About 80 percent of those who have responded feel it is important or very important to expand the librarys space and services to keep pace with the growing community, she added.
"People would like to see more technology and more devices for people with disabilities," she said.
"A lot of times, people in wheelchairs, or who can’t see well, or hear well" they come in and they cope," Sacco said. "We want to be able to accommodate those sorts of things."
The board wants to hear residents concerns, their likes, and dislikes, she said.
Those surveyed have shown a "strong community support for the library," said Sacco.
Between June of 2005 and June of 2006, Sacco said, the library had 70,000 visits; circulated 115,900 items; and answered about 6,600 reference questions.
"I like the numbers, but I think the numbers can always get better," Sacco said, adding that the library website had 24,000 users in that time period.
The library will also be hosting several "focus groups" or discussion forums, she said. Linda London, an outside consultant who is experienced with community surveys and not-for-profit organizations, will conduct the focus groups. The survey results are all filtered through London, Sacco explained, adding that she was contracted for the job because of her experience.
The focus groups are "just going to be an opportunity for people to talk," Sacco said. "It’s a good thing for a group of people to come together and talk about the future of their community."
The idea, said Sacco, is to "take what people say and translate it into a plan where people get what they want." The board plans to gather all of the information from the surveys and community discussions and use it to come up with a building program to provide a visual idea of how the library will change, she said.
The library building has limited expansion capabilities because of structural issues, said Sacco.
For each new book that comes in, an older book that doesnt get circulated often needs to be removed, Sacco told The Enterprise earlier.
"This library has no space for a parent to sit down with a young child and read a book" and that would be nice," Sacco said.
"I think that the board sees this as an opportunity to create a cultural center and a hub for the community that can really provide a broad kind of service," she said.
"This is an opportunity for each person to have a say in a major institution in the community," said Sacco, again encouraging residents to take part in the survey and the discussions. "If someone does not have a computer, and they come into the library, we would be happy to help them," she said of filling out the survey.