Dirt turned for new Beach library

Photo by Terry Barner The News Herald
An artist's rendering shows the new 10,000-square-foot Panama City Beach branch of the Bay County Library scheduled for completion near Hutchison Boulevard and Lyndell Lane in July 2010.

by Pat Kelly/ New Herald Writer

PANAMA CITY BEACH — Panama City Chamber of Commerce official Beth Oltman promised it will be "our newest gem in Panama City Beach."

County Commission Chairman Jerry Girvin noted that it will put the hushed and dusty libraries of yesteryear to shame, with a computer center, an adult literacy classroom and teen activities area.

"The libraries of today are not your grandfather's libraries," he said.

And Beach Mayor Gail Oberst, who first got the ball rolling when she applied for a $500,000 state grant, said the exponential growth of Panama City Beach, and the resulting impact fees, will now help pay for history in the making.

"Here is a perfect example of growth paying for growth," she said.

City and county officials grabbed some golden shovels and turned dirt for the latest branch of the Bay County Public Library system on Thursday, a new 10,000-square-foot building that city officials hope will be completed in a year.

The $1.8-million high-tech library will be located at the corner of Hutchison Boulevard and Lyndell Lane and share space with the Senior Center and Lyndell Community Center.

The total cost of the library could reach $2.23 million after architectural, engineering and survey costs are included, officials said.

The construction contract was awarded to Construct Two Group. Construction director Charles R. Lewis III said Thursday he hoped to be finished with the project by Christmas.

The new facility will replace a current 4,500-square-foot building near U.S. 98 and State 79 that has outgrown its space, said Doug Gilmore, a member of the Bay County Library Board and chairman of a group of citizens and civic groups that worked on planning and fundraising.

Officials have said that 71,000 people moved through the old library in 2008, and 64,000 books were checked out. More than 300 people might use the library in a single week.

"It's a great day for the Beach's community," Gilmore said Thursday. "We've got a fantastic library coming that everyone can be proud of."

The city was awarded a $500,000 state grant for the library's construction, and almost $260,000 has been collected from private donations, which are still being solicited.

The rest of the funding will come from $689,501 in projected impact fees and $781,806 from the city's contingency fund. The old library building will be converted into needed city office space.

Panama City News Herald/ April 10, 2008

Hefty budget cuts could affect Broward County libraries, parks

Hefty budget cuts could affect Broward County libraries, parks

By Scott Wyman South Florida Sun-Sentinel

April 19, 2009

Don't expect to check out a book at your local library on Sundays or visit many of the regional parks on Wednesdays. And if you live in northern Broward County Click here for restaurant inspection reports, expect to drive farther to adopt a pet. Faced with having to reduce spending by up to $160 million because of the recession, county administrators are exploring severe cuts in community services. Seven smaller branches in the county's system of 37 libraries could be shut down, and the contract to help run the library at Nova Southeastern University in Davie canceled.

It could amount to the largest reduction in Broward government in modern history if county commissioners agree later this year. The closure of parks and libraries would come despite voters agreeing twice in the past decade to expand those programs. "Broward is a platinum county when it comes to services, but we won't be and may never be again," County Mayor Stacy Ritter said.

County commissioners will begin discussing the proposals Tuesday, but will not vote on a final spending plan until the end of September. Their financial forecasts call for the tax base to drop up to 15 percent this year, and the only way to avoid the spending cuts would be to raise the tax rates on homes and businesses.

Commissioners have not ruled out raising tax rates to make up for much of the lost revenue. But Ritter and other commissioners think such a move would be hotly debated and provoke public outrage.

The libraries that would be closed are the Beach Branch in Pompano Beach, the Hollywood Beach Library, the Riverland Library in Fort Lauderdale Is your Fort Lauderdale restaurant clean? - Click Here., the Pembroke Pines Library, the Galt Ocean Mile Library in Fort Lauderdale, the Century Plaza Library in Deerfield Beach and the Lauderhill Mall Library. Service at the branch library on Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale could be limited.

All libraries would be closed on Sundays, with hours at the 11 largest libraries cut to 48 hours a week from 58. Last year, operations at those libraries were cut from to 58 hours a week from 70.

Special programs organized for all libraries would be eliminated, including celebrations of Black History Month and Gay Pride Month.

About $5.7 million would be saved by breaking the contract with Nova Southeastern. The county and the university agreed in 1999 to build the Alva Sherman Library and signed a 40-year contract. The county has been paying for about 40 percent of the operations since.

In budget cuts made last year, the county shut most regional parks on Tuesdays. That would be expanded to Wednesdays. And, parks would be closed on Thanksgiving, New Year's Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day in addition to the current holiday closures of Veterans Day, the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Grounds-keeping would be slashed, nature centers would be open only five days a week and the pool at Markham Park would be closed. Free recreational programs such as Halloween parties would be dropped.

Also, the animal shelter in Pompano Beach would be closed to the public. Cities could still drop off stray dogs, but residents would have to go to the other shelter in Fort Lauderdale for adoptions.

Scott Wyman can be reached at swyman@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4511.

Sarasota - Privatized libraries: The notion gets a look

Privatized libraries: The notion gets a look

By Zac Anderson & Roger Drouin

Published: Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 1:00 a.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 10:42 p.m.

Sarasota's public libraries might become not so public.

In an effort to trim $50 million from the county's budget next year, county officials are looking to cut expenses everywhere -- including the library, a service that some residents consider one of the most basic.

The county is checking to see which companies run libraries and if privatizing the library system would reduce costs. At a budget workshop last month, County Administrator Jim Ley told the county commissioners there are "no sacred cows" when it comes to trimming the budget.

"We're looking at a $50-million revenue loss, at best projections," Ley said Wednesday. "So we have a challenge."

Long-time library supporters were surprised by the privatization news Wednesday and wondered why the county had not given them more notice about plans to study what could drastically change the way the library is run.

"This is something totally new to me. I don't even know what to think," said Jane Forbush, president of the Friends of the Jacaranda Library group in Venice and a member of the county's library advisory board for 12 years.

Forbush said she had a hard time seeing how privatization would be a good thing for the library system.

"A tremendous amount of hours are given by volunteers. Volunteers keep the library afloat," Forbush said. "I would think it would be" more difficult to get volunteers to help a private company.

Forbush also cautioned that the county could end up losing more money by privatizing.
The Jacaranda friends group spent $3,000 recently to purchase a new computer for the library's children's department. It is unlikely volunteers would want to give money to a private company, Forbush said.

Ley said that the county is only studying the possibility, and that even if a company takes over operations, it would remain a county library.

Ley also said respondents to the county's annual survey said libraries are one of the areas they would prefer to see cuts in -- rather than "hard services" such as police, fire, street sweeping and road maintenance. "If there is a revenue shortfall and the county had to cut, they say cut parks and libraries," he said.

Before any privatization takes place, the County Commission and a library advisory board would have to approve plans.

The county commissioners have not discussed privatization yet. At last month's budget workshop, they talked in general about looking into streamlining aspects of local government.

"We're trying not to reduce services," Commissioner Joe Barbetta said. "If the administration thinks this can be done without reducing services, then they will come back to us. It is a fine line, and we have to do our best. In this tough economic environment, we have to explore all options."

A partial privatization is possible, Ley said. For example, a company could oversee book purchasing and inventory, while the county operates counter service and librarians.

"We have two responsibilities," Ley said. "One is to get the best service for the least amount of money. The second is to provide the best library experience. The question is if there is a mutually achievable overlap in there somewhere."

Sarasota library volunteer Lydia McIntire said the county would have to make a strong case for privatization, but she would at least be willing to listen.

"I certainly wouldn't condemn it without hearing the pros and cons, that would be kind of silly," said McIntire, who volunteers a few hours each week as vice president of the Friends of the Selby Library. "They obviously must have a reason for thinking of this."

But McIntire added that she has always viewed libraries as a basic function of government, and privatization "seems like such a dramatic change."

"Isn't there something in the constitution about having libraries?" she said with a chuckle.
Both McIntire and Forbush said there has been no hint that the county was considering privatization, even when the volunteers met recently with Sarasota County Commissioner Shannon Staub.

This story appeared in print on page A1

Reading into the Future - Great Newsweek Library Article

Reading Into the Future: As a librarian, my world was always about books. But in this economy, I've evolved into a career counselor.

Eva Gronowska, Newsweek Web Exclusive

Libraries are my world. I've been a patron all my life, and for the past nine years I've worked at multiple libraries and archives in and around Detroit. The library as an institution has many roles, but as our country struggles through an economic crisis, I have watched the library where I work evolve into a career and business center, a community gathering place and a bastion for hope.

In the spring of 2007 I got a library internship at the Southfield Public Library, just north of Detroit. Summers at SPL were usually slow, but that year, we experienced a library that hustled and bustled like science-fair project week, midterms or tax season. Yet patrons weren't looking for Mosby's Nursing Drug Reference or 1040 forms. They were coming for information on entrepreneurship and growing their small business.

I interpreted people's interest in our business collection as the first step to pursuing their dreams, but these patrons were not motivated by dreams. They were responding to reality, and they were looking for Plan B. In Michigan, a slew of unfortunate circumstances caused the first rumblings of recession. Rising unemployment was compounded by rampant foreclosures. The auto industry went spiraling, and with it, their suppliers, then neighborhoods. Michigan's deficit grew, budgets were slashed and business slowed. Southfield used to headquarter five Fortune 500 corporations; today only Lear Corp. remains. As the city shed business, it shed tax revenue as well. Department budgets shrank and a hiring freeze permeated the city.

Things worsened in 2008, and in 2009 the economic crisis continues to suffocate Michigan. Interest in small businesses has remained high, but unemployment, the credit crunch and foreclosures command our patrons' attention and, consequently, ours. Last year, we put up a display with a variety of job resources that we restocked every hour. Each night the library closed, the display was bare. While we normally keep displays up for a week, we kept the job resources display up for months.

Our computer terminals began to fill up, too—this may not be unusual for smaller libraries, but SPL has more than 150 computers, and now some of the people coming in to use them had never even touched one. I challenge you to find someone that's never turned on a computer, explain to them how to use the mouse and keyboard, set up an e-mail address, and then fill out an online application. Now imagine doing that in less than 15 minutes while a line of people with more questions grows impatient at your desk. That's a typical weeknight at SPL.

Some of these folks are job seekers who are suddenly confronted with having to fill out online applications. I recently worked with a man in his mid-50s who was laid off after 25 years as a delivery driver. I helped him navigate the Web sites for UPS and FedEx, search through open positions, register his information and then apply for a job. He quickly became self-sufficient and returned often to check his application's status. I haven't seen him in a while; I'm hoping that's a good sign.

Housing is also a huge issue, and patrons routinely ask about rental vouchers, mortgages, foreclosure lists and apartment searches. A large number of low-income, mentally challenged or illiterate patrons often cannot comprehend the information and are in dire need of a social worker. At times, these conversations are trying, but demonstrate the extent of need.
Regardless of who they are, you can always hear the patron's voice quiver when living arrangements are uncertain. People are scrambling to keep a roof over their heads and as librarians we stay mindful that these folks are vulnerable. A local "company" publicized a free foreclosure-information event at SPL, unbeknownst to the library. The local news caught wind of it and aired a story without researching the company or contacting us. The next day we had ourselves a hubbub as people clamored to get their foreclosure packets. Worse yet, the representative of this "company" was asking for a $20 application fee just to give patrons what was freely available. One older woman was willing to forgo her medication for the week to pay the fee. A veteran librarian derailed the questionable practice by offering our service and the information for free.

Then there's the tightening credit market. People see the writing on the wall and they want to get educated. They can't afford a financial adviser, but checking books out is free. Some of the most popular titles now are "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," "Think and Grow Rich," and "Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan." We answer question about taxes, stimulus checks, grants, bankruptcy, credit scores, credit reports and many other personal-finance issues. Fortunately, we have all had comprehensive business training. Without it we wouldn't know where to start—especially now.
The crumbling economy affects us all. I have had to work long hours and don't get to see much of my boyfriend or experience any kind of social life lately, but I am thankful to be in a position where I can help people overcome this struggle. The long days are made great when I help job seekers find work, talk to teens about college, meet new business owners, have a discussion about literature and watch senior citizens send their first e-mail to their grandchildren. These small victories and billions just like them are why librarians continue to fight the good fight. In Michigan, we haven't lost hope. As long as there are libraries here, there will always be hope.


Gronowska Lives In Southfield, Mich.
URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/192764

Hernando officials weigh library offer from LSSI, a Maryland for-profit company

Hernando officials weigh library offer from LSSI, a Maryland for-profit company

By Dan DeWitt, Times Columnist Published Monday, March 30, 2009

Hoping to witness some residents pursuing knowledge at a sacred public institution, I stopped by the West Hernando branch library Monday morning — and found the parking lot empty.

Then I remembered. After last year's cutbacks, it doesn't open until noon on Mondays. Neither does the Main Library in Brooksville, which I didn't realize until I drove across the county and pulled into another deserted lot.

That's when I started to think harder about the column that I'd planned to write, one influenced by talking to Elaine Orlando, 73, a retired reference librarian from New York.

She is circulating a petition to prevent the county from handing the operation of Hernando's libraries over to a for-profit company.

I was inclined to think, as she does, that this is sort of like the Catholic church outsourcing Communion.

Because what purer form of democracy is there than libraries? Open to all; creating well-informed citizens and voters; spreading opportunity through self-education. Orlando, quoting Benjamin Franklin, called them the "people's university.''

And, just because I lost track of the Main Library's operating hours doesn't mean I don't go there frequently. I do. It's almost always packed. The librarians are usually well informed and helpful. The selection of books is about as thoughtful and complete as can be expected.
"The quality of service has always been excellent,'' Orlando said.

Right. So, why mess with it?

Well, we probably shouldn't. But the county has received a tempting offer from Library Systems & Services, also known as LSSI, which is based in Maryland.

The company says it can save the county $500,000 if it maintains the current hours, and $360,000 if it restores the hours cut last year. The company would rehire most of the current staffers, said company vice president George Bateman, and it would not set policy or select books.

Still, this would be a big step, even an experimental one.

Only 13 local governments across the country — none in Florida — have contracted with LSSI. Some of the clients, such as a county in Oregon that had briefly shut its libraries altogether, turned to the company only as a last resort.

And Barbara Shiflett, director of library services in Hernando, listed some of her concerns in a recent memo — that this might mean a fight with the county workers' newly elected union, that volunteers might not want to pitch in for a money-making enterprise, that LSSI would hire cheaper, less-qualified employees.

On the other hand, I think of those closed doors.

In the past two years, the library has seen nothing but cuts: Its budget has gone down by $644,000, to $2.5 million, its staff by the equivalent of 11.5 employees, the hours of operation at the Main Library, which is typical, from 54 to 40 per week.

Next year will mean less money and, I worry, even fewer hours and fewer new books and computers. So the county has been forced to at least consider LSSI's pitch, County Administrator David Hamilton said. He's referred it to a committee led by Commissioner Rose Rocco.

"It simply has to see the light of day,'' he said.

I guess it does. Because this is the kind of compromise we're forced to make when we decide we hate taxes more than we love democracy.

New Port Richey Library offers budding teen rock musicians a place to jam

Through the Skylight band member Jason Dolinger, 17, center, gets the stage ready for a performance as Alexis Brown, 10, far right, tunes her electric guitar. Youth librarian Ghelder Arriaga hosts Garage Jams for teens some Wednesdays from 4 to 6 p.m. at the New Port Richey Library, 5939 Main St.

By Michele Miller, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 St. Petersburg Times

NEW PORT RICHEY

They start straggling in a little after 3 p.m. when school's out for the day. A few have guitars slung over their shoulders. Others simply bring their voices and an eagerness to share the stage with like-minded kids.

Music is the bond that connects the 15 to 25 kids that frequent the place: from the long-haired heavy metal screamers, to the International Baccalaureate kid with the awesome voice and two-tone blue electric guitar she got for her eighth-grade graduation, to the slight ponytailed 10-year-old drum aficionado who was brought up on Led Zeppelin and Elvis Presley but counts Taylor Swift as her all-time fave.

They always show up early, said Ghelder Arriaga, the youth librarian who runs things. But the kids have to wait, maybe check out some books or read over lyrics, because no one enters the upstairs community room until Arriaga is done setting up the mikes, the mixer, the sound system and the musical video game Rockband for kids who are too shy to sing or play on their own.

Then, as soon as the clock strikes 4, the purple neon "Open" sign is flipped on, and the Garage Jam session starts at the New Port Richey Library.

For the next two hours the music of today's youth (and sometimes their parents' youth) reverberates through the brick building on Main Street as patrons quietly peruse bookshelves upstairs and down or surf the Web on computers.

It's a different kind of mix to be sure, but times have changed. Libraries have evolved to meet the needs of all their patrons.

The youth jam sessions, held Wednesdays three times a month, are the brainstorm of Arriaga, who thought it would be a good way to use the library's equipment while reaching out to the younger generation.

"As a librarian, one of the things we want to do is expose them to all the arts — traditional art, music, theater — because we have a lot of material here for them," Arriaga said. "I think more teens would go to the library if there were more venues for them."

The first Garage Jam was held in November to highlight the new youth music collection purchased by the library's teen council. The sessions evolved from that, Arriaga said.

"I thought back to my own youth, growing up in New York, and how we would put together these bands. Whoever had an empty basement, that was the place to go," said Arriaga, now in his mid-30s. "If you had a friend that had a basement, he had the key to this kind of thing. But here in Florida there are no basements — you have garages, so the kids play there."

Now there's another alternative for kids like M.J. Pereyra, 17, who balances her music with intensive studies in the International Baccalaureate program at Gulf High. She used to be quite shy. Now she sings lead vocals in front of guitar player Chris Pendley, 16, and heavy metal screamers Brian Deleonard and Jason Dolinger, both 17. She writes her own songs and even has her own young fans who regularly record the group's sessions at the library on their cell phone cameras.

"This is actually great," M.J. said after Arriaga recorded her singing a cover of Temperance's You Make Me Happy for a video to post on MySpace. "I used to not be able to play guitar in front of people. Now I have the confidence to sing in front of people. It's made me what I am today."

"I come here because I like to sing, and I like to watch the band," said Kimberly Parrish, 14. "It's very nice, actually, that they do this for the teenagers."

Some adults agree.

"I'm really pleased that they're having this musical event for the kids," said Susan Vaughn, 66, a retired school librarian who volunteers as a cataloguer at the library. "I don't find it distracting at all. I think it's wonderful that these kids are here being creative, that they have a safe place to be. It's a new age. It's not a museum. It's an active living place."

Of course, not everyone feels the same. Arriaga said responses to the music program have been mixed.

The kids love it, of course. Local teachers and parents seem to like it, too — especially when reluctant readers venture in to check out the books on their favorite bands.

"The kids are reading — even if it's lyrics that I've printed off for them, they are reading," he said. "And some of the parents use this as leverage. If the kids don't keep up their grades or if they get in trouble, they can't come here.

"Some patrons don't like it," he said. "But I tell them, 'We're open 56 hours in a week and for just two of those hours we're doing this.' "

That's music to the ears of parents such as Rich Brown, who was eager to get his guitar- and drum-playing daughter Alexis, 10, into the garage band sessions after following the music up the stairs one recent Wednesday afternoon.

"Do you know how cool this is?" Brown said. "This is so cool. I wish they had something like this when I was a kid."

Fast facts
If you go
The New Port Richey Public Library is at 5939 Main St. For information on programs, call (727) 853-1279 or visit www.nprlibrary.org.