Chapel Hill Public Library’s move to the University Mall is a success

The Chapel Hill Public Library opened its temporary location two weeks ago — and though some say it’s less comfortable, the new spot has seen as much traffic as the permanent library does.

The library reopened Oct. 15 at University Mall. The permanent library location is undergoing renovations to add space, set for December 2012 completion.

“The move was hard and a lot of work,” said Maggie Hite, head of circulation of Chapel Hill Public Library.

Hite said the new location has received a positive response.

“Lots of patrons have found us and circulation has been really high,” she said.

Hite was surprised at how many people who visited when the library reopened after having closed for three weeks to move.

“Because we were closed for so long, we got an overwhelming number of people here,” Hite said. “People were so anxious to get to the library.”

The library has had an average of 1,200 visitors a day — the same as in its old location, said Kathleen Thompson, director of Chapel Hill Public Library.

While previous patrons have found the new location, she said it has also attracted new users during their shopping trips.

“It’s an opportunity to snag a reader that might not know they’re a reader,” Thompson said.

The temporary location came with upgrades including four self-checkout stations.

“Sometimes the line would get so long at the old library, but, now with all the self-checkout machines, our lines just don’t get that long,” Hite said.

Last year, staff checked out more than one million circulations. The machines will cut the checkouts staff handle by about 40 percent, Thompson said.

Despite the modernizations, staff and patrons have had to adjust to a tighter space.

Joel Vatz, an employee at the library, said only about 70 percent of the library’s collection can be kept at the mall — but patrons can still see the other books.

“We want to make sure the public has access to the entire collection,” Thompson said. “We do go to storage and pull books when patrons request them.”

On average, only 10 to 15 books need to be pulled from storage every week, she said.

Although patrons said they miss the old location, they said they appreciate the work that went into the temporary space.

“It’s more successful than I thought it was going to be,” Pat Carpenter, a Chapel Hill resident, said. “It’s going to make us really appreciate our new space.”

But other residents said the new location isn’t as comfortable.

“It doesn’t have the same kind of community space and it doesn’t have the same feel of being a community library,” said Charles Traitor of Carrboro.

Overall, it was the best temporary space the community could have hoped for, Thompson said.

“It was very difficult to find any space of size, with adequate parking, on a bus line that is as convenient as the mall is.”

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