At midday Thursday, all 15 desktop computers at the Dee Brown Library off Baseline Road in Little Rock were occupied.
Six of the 18 laptops had been checked out. Carl Smith knelt at a corner desktop computer checking his stock investments like he does nearly every day at the 13-year-old library.
"They get heavily booked, especially when the kids come out," Smith said. "Sometimes you have to wait two hours for a computer."
Jon Webb, the library's holds manager who has worked at the Dee Brown branch for eight years, said he's witnessed wait times as long as five hours. In the summers when activities are going on and youths are out of school, the library really gets busy and the space is often crammed, he said.
Central Arkansas Library System Executive Director Bobby Roberts wants to improve those situations through the refinancing of two bonds before he retires early next year.
He's asked the Little Rock Board of Directors to vote at its meeting Tuesday to authorize a special election that would take place July 14.
Registered Little Rock voters would be asked to approve refinancing a series of 2008 and 2009 bonds, which would slightly decrease the rate that property owners pay on those bonds and extend the payment by four years. The refinancing would generate $15 million to $17 million in savings to buy more computers, books and add to other collections, as well as build additions onto three Little Rock branches and purchase Internet-related technology upgrades.
While the library system serves other areas in Pulaski and Perry counties, this election would apply only to Little Rock and its libraries.
"We're trying to make our libraries more friendly and easier to use," Roberts told the city board last week. "We found that having a little more room and getting material out in the open where you can see it works better. Plus, the demand for meetings and so forth is going up rapidly."
Library officials have proposed adding at least 2,000 square feet to the Dee Brown Library, the John Gould Fletcher Library on North Buchanan Street in Hillcrest and the Roosevelt Thompson Library on Rahling Circle in west Little Rock.
The space would be used for meetings and programming, including children's activities.
At the Dee Brown branch, four tables and four chairs sit in a children's area to the back left of the building. Books, such as What Can You Do With a Shoe? and Mo's Mustache, are displayed atop shelves to entice the children to read.
Preliminary plans show an expansion through the back of that area that would add a bathroom, kitchen, more desks and chairs for meetings, and an art and recording space.
Approximately $7.5 million of what would be generated through the bond refinancing would be dedicated to building upgrades at the three library branches.
That money would also be used for smaller-scale improvements and renovations at the Main Library on Rock Street and the Sue Cowan Williams Library on South Chester Street, both downtown.
"With all of these [that have planned additions], we would shut the buildings down for a while and refurbish the existing building as well -- repaint, relight, re-carpet -- so when it comes out it will be as if it's a new library," Roberts said.
Another $2 million would be used to upgrade technology, such as Internet bandwidth and digital equipment, including computers.
Roberts told the board that he was "especially excited" about that portion of the proposed project because the system used now often runs slow in the afternoons, and there aren't enough computers to satisfy demand.
The remaining $5.5 million to $7.5 million from the refinancing would expand the library system's collections, including books, DVDs, CDs, databases and e-books.
It's the second time in three years that the library system has asked Little Rock voters to refinance bonds to pay for upgrades. In 2012, voters approved a similar refinancing of a 2004 bond that raised about $26 million to build the Ron Robinson Theater and improve the Main Library, both in the River Market District; purchase land in west Little Rock; buy books and increase Internet stations; and expand the Sidney S. McMath Library on John Barrow Road.
While Smith watched his stocks change on the public computer at the Dee Brown branch Thursday, he talked about the recent improvements elsewhere.
"This branch is not even in the same league as McMath," he said.
Ward 7 Director Doris Wright, whose ward includes the McMath library, told Roberts at last week's meeting that the expansion and added children's space at the library has been well-utilized and appreciated by her constituents.
Little Rock property owners are currently assessed 1 mill on their property taxes to pay for the bonds the library wants to refinance. That rate would decrease to 0.9 mill after refinancing, and the payment period would be extended another four years past the current end date. In all, Little Rock property owners pay 5.1 mills for library bonds or operations now. If refinancing is approved in a July election, that would decrease to 5 mills.
A mill is one-tenth of 1 cent, with each mill producing $1 in tax revenue for every $1,000 of taxable property.
For a homeowner with a $100,000 house, his annual library taxes would be reduced from $102 to $100.
The bond payoff date of 2028 would be extended to 2032, though Roberts says the likely payoff is several years sooner.
"This sounds like a win-win for everyone," Wright said.
Metro on 05/03/2015