Next week, the Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County could decide to push for a new Uptown library that would be a rare partnership in the library world: a private developer helping fund a public resource.
The library board and the Spirit Square Community Task Force are expected to hear presentations April 16 on a possible redevelopment of the block that includes Spirit Square and main branch of The Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County. Library officials are considering whether to rebuild the library or renovate the building, an 1980s-era expansion of a building built in the 1950s.
Library officials originally planned to simply consider a renovation, which would likely be funded with a bond issue, said Charles Brown, the library system director. Then the Spirit Square task force, which county commissioners created last spring after the county proposed selling the Square, began including the library in its redevelopment discussions.
“No one went into this with the idea of a new main library,” Brown said. “Opportunities presented themselves.”
Darrel Williams, the library board’s chairman, said PLCMC needs to be proactive. “We don’t want to have to react to other things that might happen on that block,” Williams said.
Jenkins-Peer Architects, a local firm, and Arizona-based Providence Associates looked at the disadvantages of renovating and the possibility of a new facility. “We have not done any real solid cost studies,” Brown said. “We don’t have any idea how much a developer would contribute to the cost of a new building … [or] of the cost of renovating this facility.”
Such public-private partnerships are rare. In the 1980s, Brown said, the Los Angeles Public Library sold businesses rights to develop on its site. “There may be other examples around the country, but none come immediately to mind,” Brown said.
Last year, the library organized several focus groups that included more than 200 staff, patrons, Uptown residents, people in the arts, and non-patrons. Participants said the library sorely needs better parking. Among other requests: More current materials, more technology, an entrance on Tryon Street, food service within the library, more free or low-cost meeting space and a less institutional, more living-room like setting.
“One of the things we heard from people [is] they would like very much to have a library that is like an ImaginOn for adults,” said Brown. ImaginOn is the children’s library that opened in 2006.
The library also has materials in its Robinson-Spangler Collection that it would like to feature more prominently. “We have so many materials here that are special, almost rare, and we don’t have any climate-controlled environment to protect them,” Brown said. “We would really like to be able to display a lot more of the really special things we have in this collection.”
The library currently houses its publishing house, Novello Festival Press, but Brown said he would like to offer space for other houses. “I’m certain we would charge less than commercial office space in Uptown Charlotte,” Brown said. “Nonetheless, it might provide a revenue stream, but I think most importantly it would provide them with a home.”
The Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County is one of the largest in the Southeast — only Miami-Dade and Broward counties have larger systems. In fiscal 2005, it operated with $33.70 in per capita local funding, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
In 1995, Library Journal named it National Library of the Year. In 1996, the American Library Association gave PLCMC its National Library of the Future award. Brown also wants the library system to be among the top 25 most literate U.S. cities — a 2007 study Central Connecticut State University ranked PLCMC 26th overall. Library resources was one of several factors used in its calculations. He also would like to provide literacy services, including office space for literacy tutors and groups. “One of my personal goals is to do whatever the library can to make Charlotte a more literate community,” Brown said.
At the same time surveys indicate Americans are reading less, successful big-box chain bookstores like Barnes & Noble have altered reader expectations. “Libraries are becoming a place where people just go to hang out,” Brown said. “People really want a relaxed environment.”
Some library users have complained about the presence of homeless people in the library; Brown said staff are working with county officials and social services agencies on finding places where people can go to escape the elements, but such considerations won’t be a factor in construction or renovation decisions.
“At this point, I have no idea what the two groups are going to propose doing,” Brown said. “The only definite thing — and the library board was very clear on this — but that after 105 years, they are committed to a main library being on this site.”
This article appears in Apr 9-15, 2008.
