When it comes to future library services, the Pinehurst Village Council is determined to have as complete a picture as possible.
To that end, the council this past week asked for more documentation to supplement work a consulting firm has already provided.
During a session Tuesday that stretched almost 90 minutes, four of the five council members agreed they need to know more about the existing Given Memorial Library. Council member Kevin Drum was out of town and did not participate in the talks.
Specifically, the council wants a detailed picture of the library’s operations, including its finances, staffing, programming and patrons. The council also wants data comparing all that to libraries with similar populations to Pinehurst, including nearby Southern Pines.
“We have come a long way on this tonight,” Mayor John Strickland declared.
But that’s not all. Still left undone is the wording of survey questions going out to a statistically valid random selection of village residents. That survey is the final bit of data in the overall “needs assessment” for library services.
Assistant Village Manager Natalie Hawkins will compile council members’ suggested questions and bring them back for their review. If the council concurs, the village hopes to conduct the survey in June.
The survey is intended to find out exactly what residents want in terms of library services, possible options, and how much they would be willing to pay. Once that is done, consultants can prepare a final report with recommendations on possible options. That could come in July.
The additional data being sought is a departure from the council’s original request. It came about after they declared strong concerns about the preliminary needs assessment report that the consultants presented last month.
Council members questioned whether the consultants’ preliminary recommendations, based on research and community input, reflected what a majority of Pinehurst residents really want. Council members expressed concerns that the consultants were “leading” participants of four focus groups toward certain preconceived conclusions.
That preliminary report recommends a facility more than three times the size of the present Given Memorial Library and Tufts Archives somewhere in the village center. A new library would provide expanded services and programs.
The report also concluded that the village should “play a larger role” in providing library services.
Four possible options are identified for a library: next to the Cannon Park Community Center or next to Village Hall; or acquiring and renovating the old fire station on Community Road, which would also have to be expanded, and the Theater Building. The cost of acquiring those two buildings was not included.
The capital costs for those four options are in the range of $5 million to $8 million, depending on the location chosen, and would require about $1 million in annual operating expenses.
The report does not completely rule out renovating the existing Given Memorial Library and creating additional space by relocating Tufts Archives elsewhere. But that option would not provide the space needed for expanded services. Also, some residents fear that any expansion could jeopardize the village’s National Historic Landmark status.
During a nearly two-hour work session May 5, council members worked to find a way to salvage as much as they could from the preliminary report, but said they wanted some changes in wording to show that the report simply reflects the majority of those participating in the focus groups. Those groups were meant to provide a representation of the village’s demographics as well as take into account library patrons and non-users.
Council members debated how much of this initial input should be used.
“I think it is absolutely essential,” council member Judy Davis said of including it. “This document should embody everything we have looked at in evaluating an expanding library and running it as a municipal function for the village. To not include it would be an awful omission.”
Strickland noted that the input also included an earlier online survey that attracted 383 responses, two public input sessions and private interviews that the consultants conducted with various stakeholders.
“I don’t think we want to throw any of this away,” Village Manager Jeff Sanborn said.
“I agree it would be glaring to leave that out,” council member Lydia Boesch said of the focus group input. “So much time was spent on this. The public did pay for it. If we don’t include it, it will look odd. Just a gut feeling.”
Council member Jane Hogeman said the council needs “to figure out where this report is trying to go.”
Hogeman said a key question revolves around what size building residents want. She questioned whether it would be 17,000 square feet as the consultant recommended.
Data that Hawkins compiled for the proposed background document shows four municipal libraries — in Clayton, Kings Mountain, Roanoke Rapids and Southern Pines — in the 10,000 to 20,000 population category. While their populations are smaller than the village, the size and staffing of each of them are bigger than Given Memorial. Given is unique in North Carolina because it is the only privately operated library in the state.
The sizes of libraries in those four communities range from 7,580 square feet (Roanoke Rapids) to 38,000 (Henderson). By comparison, Given Memorial has 3,890 square feet of space for actual library services. It also houses Tufts Archives.
Boesch said before the village talks about building sizes, it needs to know exactly what services people want.
“Then we’ll figure out how to provide that,” she said. But she agreed that the benchmark comparisons with other communities “is valuable information.”
Davis said this formation “is a real big anchor.”
“It is a baseline,” she said. “These are facts. The benchmarks will be important after we do the survey. This is not waste work.”
Sanborn argued that the average resident would probably want to know how big libraries are in communities similar in size to Pinehurst as well as other data such as what services they provide and what it costs to operate.
“I think that will help me frame what might be appropriate for our community,” he said.
Davis said all of that benchmark financial data will help the council in making business decisions should it take on a great role in operating a library or making it a municipal function.
Council members questioned whether the preliminary report might influence some residents who take the survey.
Davis questioned how many people will actually read all of it.
“Slim and none,” she said.
Boesch agreed that few people will probably read all of it.
“Part of me says trust the reader,” she said “I’m a big believer in providing the information.”
