The space of the current Coupeville Library is approximately 2,600 square feet, with a scant 250 square feet (to my best estimation) of staff space. The public space just slightly larger than average U.S. home and about the size of my childhood home.
So what, you ask? Growing up with six kids in that house was fine. We could tuck away in our modest bedrooms (shared, of course) or hide out in the basement “rec room.” There was plenty of room, like in many of your family homes today. In recent weeks, our similarly sized library averaged 275 visitors each day; over 36 per hour. I have tried to imagine 36 people an hour traipsing through my parents’ home and all I could think of was, “And Mom thought WE were hard on the carpet!”
Let’s talk about the staff space. I don’t know about you, but my office cubicle is not luxurious. It’s approximately 6 by 8 feet. I have the semblance of privacy with partition walls and if necessary can use a small conference room or borrow my manager’s office and close the door. Our library staff shares 250 square feet of staff space with storage, four cramped and inefficient work stations, a table to sort materials (approximately 12 to 18 boxes every day), a sink and small refrigerator. It acts as a lunchroom, break room and the manager’s office. There is no privacy, no elbow room and no conference room. It is not possible for the manager to take someone aside and discuss an issue, unless they go outside. Yes, much of their time is spent in the public area, but there is administrative work that is necessary behind the scenes. When more than two people are using the space to sort our hold books or perform some other function it takes on the patterns of a choreographed dance.
Our library is literally bursting at the seams. It was not designed to absorb 275 patrons a day (remember, average means that some days there are more, the high was over 400 in one day). I am hearing of more requests for a quiet/study room, and increasing challenges finding seating and table space. Conditions will not improve without expanding the size of the library.
The exact design for the renovated and expanded facility has not been finalized; one feasible foot print has been provided as something to think about. The completed library will provide room for the kids to have a story time without sitting on each other’s laps or spilling into another area. That same space can absorb our AARP tax preparation volunteers each spring, Teen & Adult Programs or the several book clubs that use the common space now. The possibilities are limited only by our imaginations. It will have room for additional computer stations reducing the wait time on the current stations. If you aren’t using this well-loved facility, please visit the library and explore the possibilities. Imagine how it could be: Bigger, brighter, designed to use our resources well and continue to draw in new patrons and the next generation.
If you have not turned in your ballot yet, please vote yes twice. Seven cents per $1,000 valuation is small change for a big reward. And please, visit the library. It belongs to all of us. You owe it to yourself to see what’s there!
Kathie Schutte is Co chair of Vote Yes Coupeville Library Committee
