2016.01.13 Parks Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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POPULATION DENSITY AND POPULATION GROWTH — In attempting to serve the greatest number of people, libraries should be placed near population centers. A big factor, as most buildings are constructed for at least a 20 -year lifespan, is to examine population trends and to build where the population centers will be in the future. While anecdotal, it is said that great libraries serve 90 percent of the people 90 percent of the time. Thus, public libraries need to focus on placement in population centers, whereas residents living in more rural or sparsely populated areas of the County may expect to travel further to their nearest library, as they would for various other commercial services. Another aspect of looking at population is the size of the library. Generally, the larger the population, the larger the library needed to adequately serve community needs. USE OF SPACE WITHIN LIBRARY FACILITIES — Within the libraries, division of space for collections, adult reading areas, children's or teen areas, programs and meeting spaces, staff areas, etc. typically emerges in the planning process as service needs and building programs are determined. There are no useful formulas for division of space within libraries, and change is happening quickly such that recent trends have focused on building highly flexible space that can be changed easily and cost-effectively as needs change. AVOIDING DUPLICATION OF OTHER COMMUNITY RESOURCES — Because public libraries today are so diverse in their service offerings, both facilities and service planning must look at other community resources. As an example, for library facilities, planning should look at other resources or venues for teens within a service area before embarking on building expanded teen rooms or centers in a library. Similarly, many communities have a multitude of meeting rooms that are under-utilized, such that the need to build these types of facilities in a library may be lessened. For the latter, however, it should be noted that "gathering spaces" in libraries usually encompass multiple uses and types of rooms to accommodate such things as community meetings, library meetings, library programs for all ages that are related to collections, children's story times, training and educational activities, technology for remote access, and tutoring or small work or study spaces. Thus, the need for flexible, multi-purpose, on-site "gathering spaces" at public libraries is often compelling. EASY ACCESS FOR ALL, OR FOR PARTICULAR AUDIENCES — While the majority of residents in a locale like Washington County may have access to cars or other transportation, for a significant, and often under -resourced, segment of the population, it may be important to locate libraries on public transportation lines or hubs. Similarly, if a community library is targeting a particular population, such as teens, it is vital to assess how that population will travel to the library. Coordination of public transit options should be a factor in siting of new construction of public libraries. �-J