1. Discover whats inside! WELCOME LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL & BUILDING PLANNING COMMITTEE JOINT MEETING September 21, 2004 6:30 – 8:30PM

2. Discover whats inside! Tonights Agenda Agenda & ProcessBob Wilson Committee ReportBob Wilson & Committee Questions/DiscussionLBOC Next StepsBob Wilson

3. Discover whats inside! Building Planning Committee Origins In the fall of 2003, the St. Tammany Parish Library Board of Control (LBOC) recognized the need for broader, parish-wide citizen input into the librarys building needs. Community leaders and patrons of the STPL from multiple relevant professions were invited to participate in a blue ribbon Building Planning Committee (BPC).

4. Discover whats inside! BPC Process During the past year, the Building Planning Committee has studied: Parish demographics and growth The current state of STPL buildings Peer library systems within Louisiana National library trends and standards Prototype Regional & Branch Libraries Committee consensus & recommendations Report prepared for presentation to LBOC

5. Discover whats inside! St. Tammany Demographics St. Tammany is the fastest growing parish in the state: 3% or 6,000 new residents per year 327,000 residents by 2025 Fifth largest parish in Louisiana Best schools in the state Highest per capita income Lowest poverty rate Highest median home value

6. Discover whats inside! STPL THEN & NOW Folsom Branch Library 1950 & Now

7. Discover whats inside! STPL Pre -1983 1983 – 10 small branches and a bookmobile Madisonville was a two room house Libraries were part-time, open 3 days a week Bookmobile retired in 1986 Abita and Bush were the same as they are today Buildings were first generation library buildings

8. Discover whats inside! 1983-1989 Building Plan In response to quadrupling of population, $6 million in property tax millage approved by the voters Two new large branches at Slidell & Covington (HQ) Tripled the size of Mandeville Branch New buildings at Folsom, Lee Rd, Madisonville & Pearl River Restroom renovations at Abita, Lacombe & Bush branches

9. Discover whats inside! Additions Since 1989 1993 - New Lacombe Branch 1993 - Pontchartrain Branch 1999 - Causeway Branch 1998 - Mandeville Branch renovations 1999 - Electronic Resource Center 2002 - Headquarters Annex

10. Discover whats inside! Lost Opportunities Libraries need space for ART Lack of museums in St. Tammany Display space has by necessity been given over to book shelves Programs stunted by inadequate meeting space: Summer Reading Program Party drew 300 kids & parents to a meeting room that seats 60. Many kids were turned away. 83 teens attended Teen Mystery Night.

11. Discover whats inside! Lost Opportunities (Cont.) No room for a Friends of the Library gift shop and perpetual book sale. Insufficient relaxation reading areas Feeling of airiness and open sight lines ruined by additional shelves and electronic media. No space available for study carrels Not enough storage areas for staff equipment and supplies (Story kits in attic)

12. Discover whats inside! Lost Opportunities (Cont.) Full shelves result in buying fewer volumes than we should Full shelves result in weeding items we would like to keep

13. Discover whats inside! STPL TODAY STPL today is a very strong parish library system with a wonderful collection, an excellent staff, and a community hungry for library services. It is a tremendous community resource that is constrained by its buildings.

14. Discover whats inside! Peer Libraries Our peer parish library systems, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Lafayette, Calcasieu, Terrebonne, and Caddo have all initiated extensive library building programs. All 12 STPL branches can fit inside the new Houma Main Library. The new Houma Main Library is 70,000 sq. ft. Our largest branch, Slidell, is 22,000 sq. ft.

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16. Houma Main Library

17. Discover whats inside! Houma Childrens Entrance

18. Discover whats inside! Houma Childrens Computers

19. Discover whats inside! Houma Reading Boat

20. Discover whats inside! Houma Teen Computers

21. Discover whats inside! Houma Teen Booths

22. Discover whats inside! Houma Reference

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24. Checkouts Per Resident in 2002 East Baton Rouge Parish5.7 per resident Lafayette Parish5.3 per resident Calcasieu Parish5.2 per resident St. Tammany Parish Library 4.9 per resident Shreve Memorial (Shreveport) 4.3 per resident Jefferson Parish 3.9 per resident Orleans Parish 2.0 per resident Louisiana Average 4.0 per resident

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27. Standards for Library Facilities The Louisiana Standard for an excellent library system is 1.25 sq. ft. per capita of 20 year projected population. STPL now is at.35 sq. ft. per capita. The St. Tammany parish Library is one fourth the size it should be.

28. Discover whats inside! Library System Size Projection Category:Collection:Population:Items/Capita: STPL Now511k207k2.5 Natl 50%175k-225k2.0 Natl 75%275k-375k2.5 Natl 90%275k-375k3.5 LA enhancedAll2.5 LA excellentAll3.5 STPL +20 yrs???

29. Discover whats inside! BPC Committee Consensus STPL should be an Excellent system by Louisiana Standards. STPL should be in the 90 th percentile by National Standards. Population in 20 years will be at least 300,000. Collection size should total 3.5 items per capita (1,050,000 items). 375,000 or more sq ft will be needed to house the collection and the serve the citizens of St. Tammany.

30. Discover whats inside! Library Space Needs Prototype Formula Collection space Reader seating space Staff work space Meeting room space Special use space Nonassignable space

31. Discover whats inside! Recommendations Categories New Building Recommendations Existing Building Recommendations Process Recommendations

32. Discover whats inside! New Building Recommendations: STPL should utilize three types of new library buildings: Regional Libraries Community Libraries Satellite Libraries

33. Discover whats inside! New Building Recommendations Regional Libraries are needed to house complete collections to achieve economies of scale and to house unique or near unique service functions. Regional Libraries will range in size from 30,000 to 70,000 square feet. The space needs prototype formula will be utilized to determine both the number of Regional Libraries and the appropriate size for each location.

34. Discover whats inside! New Building Recommendations: Community Libraries should be large enough to house a full service library branch and a collection of at least 35,000 volumes. Community Libraries will range in size from 12,000 to 30,000 square feet. The space needs prototype formula will be utilized to determine the appropriate size for each location.

35. Discover whats inside! Vacherie Community Library

36. Discover whats inside! Vacherie Main Interior

37. Discover whats inside! Vacherie Childrens Room

38. Discover whats inside! New Building Recommendations: Satellite Libraries will be short term, small (4,000 to 7,000 square feet) rental facilities used to confirm a demand for library services in a rapidly growing area. Once demand is confirmed, an appropriate Community Library will be built utilizing the library space needs prototype formula.

39. Discover whats inside! New Building Recommendations: All new sites and buildings should allow for whatever future expansion the site will allow to accommodate population growth patterns. New building sites should be highly visible and accessible within the community. New buildings should be shaped to facilitate future expansion or additions. Odd shaped buildings make expansion difficult. Architecture should reflect the vernacular.

40. Discover whats inside! New Building Recommendations: Buildings should have a strong relationship with the outdoors. Building orientation should take advantage of sun orientation & prevailing breezes. Patron movement at site & in new buildings should be intuitive. Natural lighting should be utilized wherever practicable.

41. Discover whats inside! New Building Recommendations: Display space for art (permanent & temporary) should be planned into the buildings & sites. Book collection space should not exceed 45% of total building space. All new library buildings should have meeting space for at least 60 people.

42. Discover whats inside! Existing Building Recommendations: The Mandeville Branch is in an excellent location within the community and is a tremendous asset to the community. Childrens and Adult Programming are adversely affected by the lack of meeting space. Consider adding a meeting room to the Mandeville Branch and acquiring nearby land for additional parking to configure Mandeville as a Community Library under the umbrella of a nearby Regional Library.

43. Discover whats inside! Existing Building Recommendations: Reconfigure the Covington Branch as a Community Library by moving some functions (Examples: Louisiana Room, ERC, Information Technology Section) to a nearby Regional Library.

44. Discover whats inside! Existing Building Recommendations: Reconfigure the Slidell Branch as a Community Library by moving some functions (Examples: Government Documents Collection, Electronic Library) to a Regional Library. Renovate to add study carrels and additional patron restrooms.

45. Discover whats inside! Existing Building Recommendations: The existing Lee Road Branch site has potential for expansion. Consider using the existing Lee Road Branch building as a meeting room and build a new Community Library on the rear portion of the existing site. If not, locate a suitable site nearby to house a new Lee Road Community Library.

46. Discover whats inside! Existing Building Recommendations: The existing Madisonville Branch is inadequate in size to continue housing a Community Library and should be replaced with a new Madisonville Community Library. Consider using the Madisonville Branch building for a specific library function or returning it to the parish for an alternate government function.

47. Discover whats inside! Existing Building Recommendations: The existing Lacombe Branch site has some potential for expansion. Determine if the existing branch site combined with the vacant land to the immediate west (if available) is large enough to accommodate a new Lacombe Community Library. If not, locate a suitable site on the main highway to house a new Lacombe Community Library.

48. Discover whats inside! Existing Building Recommendations: The existing branches at Folsom, Bush, Pearl River, and Abita Springs are inadequate in size to continue serving the needs of the citizens of St. Tammany Parish and should all be replaced with appropriate Community Libraries. None of the sites of these branches are large enough to accommodate the necessary expansion. New Community Libraries should be built in each of these communities utilizing the space needs formula to determine the appropriate size for each location.

49. Discover whats inside! Existing Building Recommendations: The existing Causeway & Pontchartrain Branch Libraries are Satellite Libraries housed in rental facilities. Their original function was to relieve overcrowding at the Mandeville and Slidell Branches. Upon completion of Regional Libraries, re-evaluate the need for both branches and build new Community Libraries as necessary.

50. Discover whats inside! Existing Building Recommendations: The functions housed in the existing Headquarters Annex Building should be located either within or adjacent to a new Regional Library.

51. Discover whats inside! Process Recommendations: Upon approval of the Building Program by the voters, the Library Board of Control (LBOC) should appoint a Site Selection Committee. All sites should be purchased as soon as possible even if construction is not imminent. Consider land or building swaps with parish or towns. Co-ordinate site selection with the Parish Green-space Purchase Project.

52. Discover whats inside! Process Recommendations: LBOC should ensure that all library construction is in compliance with New Directions 2025 planning guidelines. Geological fault lines, flood zone, elevation, and subsidence should be considered in site selection decisions. LBOC should utilize both local & library expert architects in the design and construction of new library buildings.

53. Discover whats inside! Process Recommendations: Building designers should meet & interview staff and end users. LBOC should provide information regarding the Library Building Program to local communities and solicit local political leadership support. LBOC should review the Strategic Building Plan every five years. This process will be used to adjust for changes in population growth and demand for library services.

54. Discover whats inside! Next Steps Sept./Oct - LBOC reviews BPC Report Oct./Nov. - Steering Committee Refines Recommendations Spring 05 - Library Board of Control Briefs Parish Council Spring 05 - Parish Council authorizes Millage Election. Fall 05 - Millage Election

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