Library expansion gets the green light

Chapel Hill is proceeding with a $16 million library expansion despite Orange County not increasing its funding — but that doesn’t close the door on future support.

“Although they weren’t able to do better this year, we understand their budget is deeply constrained,” Town Council member Sally Greene said.

The Chapel Hill Public Library has had inadequate space since it was first built in 1994, she said. It was built based on a reduced plan because that was all that could be passed at the time.

The council’s decision will increase the size of the library from about 27,000 square feet to about 62,500 square feet.

The county will contribute $250,000 to Chapel Hill’s library this year, about 11 percent of the library’s total budget. About 40 percent of its users live outside Chapel Hill.

Because of this, council members have suggested non-Chapel Hill residents pay a fee for a library card, but this would require giving up all funding from the county.

Greene said the expansion won’t be completed for about 18 months — which means the county could still contribute to the costs of the expansion when it adopts a budget a year from now.

“The county does intend to make more contributions in the future,” she said. “I believe the commissioners recognize the inequity in the current funding situation.”

Chapel Hill resident and library user Ben Houc said he has felt the need for more space.

“The first time I was here, I came to do some reading, and there were people doing census stuff so it was hard to concentrate,” he said. “(The library needs) a separation for sections for different people and needs.”

The expansion will address this need by creating a small, quiet reading area sealed off from the rest of the library, said Chapel Hill Library Assistant Director Mark Bayles.

The library is working to develop a contract for radio frequency identification tags so that when books are put through a drop box they’ll be checked back in automatically. The library will have self check-out when the expansion is completed.

“Patrons will not have to stand in line as long so they’ll be able to get in and out of the building more quickly,” Bayles said.

The library will have to be moved for about 14 months so construction can be completed, but that won’t happen for several months, he said.

Greene said she hopes the expansion will make the library a sort of Town Commons — a space the town doesn’t yet have.

The new library will have four meetings rooms — up from two — and will be a separate wing from the rest of the library so the council and other organizations won’t be limited to meeting only during open library hours.

The library will also have more inventory and more space for computers.

“We’re excited for the new services and facilities we’ll be able to offer the community,” Bayles said. “But it’ll be a while. There’s still a fair amount to figure out.”

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