By Sara BrubakerCorrespondent/The Gainesville Sun
July 9, 2009
About 150 people crowded into a new library and neighborhood resource center in northeast Gainesville on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate its official opening.
The Library Partnership - A Neighborhood Resource Center, located at 1130 N.E. 16th Ave., represents the culmination of a collaborative effort among the Alachua County Library District, the Department of Children and Families and the Partnership for Strong Families to bring much-needed resources to the community.
"We're just like any other fully functioning library," said Alachua County Library District director Sol Hirsch. "The biggest difference is our partnership. Our work complements each other."
Hirsch, along with administrators and directors of the DCF and the Partnership for Strong Families, came up with the idea of the joint library and resource center in October.
Construction began in March, and the facility opened unofficially on June 15, just eight months after the initiative was first discussed.
The full-service branch library boasts a community meeting room, a children's area, a teen room, 20 computers and a full collection of books, periodicals, magazines and DVDs, much of which was donated from other branches. It is about the same size as the Archer and Newberry library branches.
"Basic, traditional services are our foundation, but we're also concentrating on community outreach," Hirsch said.
Between 195 and 240 people a day have utilized the new facility since it opened in June, according to Anita Jenkins-McCarter, the library manager. She said she expects that number to double once school starts again in August.
Sixty percent of the 7,500-square-foot center is space shared by both the library and the resource center.
The resource center, operated by the Partnership for Strong Families, introduces people to social services and links them with organizations to assist them, such as FloridaWorks, the YMCA and about 30 other community partners.
Hirsch said the joint venture, which he said is the first of its kind in Florida, embodies the library district's motto, "Thinking outside the book," he said.
"We're not waiting for people to come to us, we're going out to the community. This partnership represents a common sense approach - When money's tight, why not come together?" he said.
Several members from the community organizations spoke before Wednesday's ribbon-cutting ceremony, including Laura Shaw from the Alachua County Library Foundation and Scherwin Henry, a Gainesville commissioner.
Shaw presented the Library Partnership with a $15,000 donation for the Snuggle-Up Room, the children's area shared by the library and the resource center.
Henry said northeast Gainesville lacks positive attention and rarely sees the introduction of worthwhile community programs, but the library meets a very real need for neighborhood resources.
"This type of creativity and innovation is what makes our community the best place to live in the state of Florida," he said.
The speakers conveyed their excitement about the potential of the center to revitalize children, teenagers, working adults and grandparents.
Carressa Hutchinson, the Family Resource Center coordinator, said the library's location on a bus route, large parking lot and variety of resources housed under one roof make it indispensable to the surrounding neighborhoods.
Hutchinson grew up in northeast Gainesville and graduated from Eastside High School. She said she has recognized the lack of sufficient resources in her community for a long time.
"We're living in a time when there are so many budget cuts that people are finding it impossible to get the information they need," Hutchinson said. "This library is a new way of effectively delivering information so that people can actually take advantage of all the social services that are out there."
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