The Palo Alto Library Advisory Commission will turn in its recommendations regarding the new renovations for the five Palo Alto libraries to the Palo Alto City Council on Dec. 4. City council will then decide how much it is willing to spend on improvements and if they will attempt to receive funds from the community by constructing a ballot proposal for the June 2008 elections.
Formed in 2004, The LAC has been making plans to renovate the five main libraries in Palo Alto including Mitchell Park, Main, Downtown, Children’s and College Terrace.
Commissioners have been trying to understand the needs of the community by focusing on specific problems such as collections, technological efficiency, and space needs and then proposing ways to solve them, according to chair commissioner Sandy Hursh and commissioner Genevieve Gerard.
According to both Forte and Gerard, the recommendations will have a special focus on the Mitchell Park Library based on its condition and the population it is expected to meet.
Widening aisles so that books are more accessible and creating more space to meet programming needs are some of the current considerations.
"Cost is now coming back into the equation," Gerard said. "We are now weighing the cost-benefit ratio."
However, the LAC does not have an idea of what the total costs or renovation plan will be as the commission have been focusing on specific issues independent from one another, according to Hursh.
The project has received funding from many outside organizations, including the Friends of the Palo Alto Library and Palo Alto Library Foundation.
"It [the outcome] all depends on what people perceive as the appetite for these improvements," Gerard said.
By gauging what is important for the community through close communication with library staff and architects, the LAC hopes to make the best recommendations possible. Other methods, such as community meetings (in February and March of 2005) as well as a random survey which was distributed in January of 2005 have helped the LAC to understand the public’s concern for the libraries, according to Hursh.
"So far we’ve done a very good job with coming up with recommendations helped along with the great work of the staff," commissioner Sanford Forte said. "It is very important that we pay attention to what library staff say they need — they are the experts."
The LAC has already been working on projects such as the renovation of the Children’s Library, which was an outgrowth of the LAC’s work on Measure D, but after its failure, library renovations were funded by city and private fundraisers, according to Hursh.
However, there still may be limits to the commission’s recommendations depending on the costs of the projects.
"It is the city council’s job to look at the fiscal realities," Forte said. "These fiscal restraints will help determine the end game."
The end game however is unclear at this point as it is up to the city council to evaluate the information from the LAC.
"There are a lot of balls in the air right now," Gerard said.
Forte explains the importance of diligently approaching the task in order to take care of these problems in one effort.
"By creating a plan we can hand off to the city council so they have the best information possible so they can put a package together so the libraries can be a flexible, scalable, community reinforcing institution," Forte said.