Springdale mulls library update options

SPRINGDALE -- The Public Library wants more space for programs, and a seldom-used outdoor patio might be the right fit.

Marcia Ransom, library director, said the Public Library Board also will revisit the library's plan developed in 2015 based on a needs assessment study. The board is the foundational arm of the library and shares oversight with the city.

"It's time to reintroduce the idea of an expansion and start the conversation again," Ransom said.

The outdoor area of the children's section would provide 3,000 more square feet if enclosed, Ransom said. The addition would bring the library's total area to 46,000 square feet.

Cost of the expansion was estimated at $530,000 to $700,000 in 2015, but Ransom said that would need updating with today's dollars.

The project's biggest items would include building a roof for the area and attaching it to the current roof, as well as air conditioning and heating systems, she said.

Fayetteville Public Library recently opened a 90,000-square-foot expansion, partly paid by a sales tax. Bentonville voters in March approved a bond issue that includes $4.97 million for a library expansion.

Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse said neither a bond issue nor sales tax increase are under consideration.

The money for the library's project could come from the capital improvement fund, which as of March 30 held $2.7 million not designated to other projects, reported Wyman Morgan, the city's director of administration and finance.

STANDARDS

Richard Waters of Godfrey's Associates, a library consulting firm in Dallas, noted best practices for libraries say space should equal about 1 square foot per resident in the city, including staff members working in the building.

A library also should keep two physical items in the collection for each person in the city, he said. If a city has 50,000 people, the library would need 100,000 items available for check out, he noted.

The Springdale library counts 131,279 volumes, which meets the standard now, but won't if the 2020 Census reports 80,000 people living in the city as officials expect.

The advent of the online world has allowed libraries to offer much more than what is available in their physical spaces, Ransom said.

"We could expand our collection exponentially by acquiring digital materials," she said. "And, as we've learned over the past months, virtual connections have a role to play in the future of library programming, even though they may not be everyone's preferred method.

"We need more space for programming, not so much for collections," she said.

Waters helped the library complete the needs assessment and 30-year plan. His report said the library needed to expand along with Springdale's population, Ransom said.

The library is surrounded by Murphy Park and its pond on the east, Springdale High School to the north, homes to the west and the library's only parking lot on the south, leaving little room for constructing any additions.

The city built the library in 1966 and expanded it in 2000, Ransom said.

The city briefly considered opening a branch downtown, but it didn't make sense, she said. A branch -- essentially another library -- would require another staff and money to pay the staff, in addition to materials and resources, she said.

IMPROVEMENTS

The library holds programs in the 740-square-foot Shiloh Room and the 1,336-square-foot children's auditorium. The library also uses the art gallery just inside the front doors for larger groups of adults and moves furniture in the children's area for larger events for kids.

The gallery can hold about 40 chairs, but staff usually opts for fewer to let more people participate by standing, Ransom said. The crowd often will extend out into the library, and the staff can accommodate up to 150 people that way.

She said outside programming has never worked well. The library has offered summer entertainment programs like music and jugglers.

"It was just too hot," Ransom said. "You'd be out there Mother's Day and just sweating, or in the evening swatting mosquitoes. Or it might rain, and the performers wouldn't want to get their equipment wet.

"When we went back and looked at it, we have a lot more viable space outside."

Many recent improvements to the library -- including about 15 listed in the needs assessment -- were paid by the Library Board, Ransom said. The board receives money from an endowment started 50 years ago, she said.

A spreadsheet provided by Ransom showed $773,000 of upgrades by the board. They included furnishings, computer infrastructure and equipment, signs, security equipment, flooring and design for a 2019 renovation, which turned a computer lab into staff offices.

Remaining needs include a new outdoor sign, upgrades for the study carrels and new carpeting.

The City Council in the spring of 2018 approved $175,000 from its capital improvement project fund to pay for a radio frequency tracking program for sorting books.

The library in February 2020 asked for $141,000 in renovation to the public restrooms, but the City Council rejected it.

A pipe broke in the library's handling room during February's sub-zero temperatures, Ransom reported. The room held books returned to the library through its outdoor book drop and about 1,000 returned books under a two-week quarantine.

"We went for the books right away,"she said.

Only about 200 books couldn't be saved. Insurance covered the $22,000 in damage, she said.

PROGRAMMING

Ransom said the staff hopes to return to a more normal schedule of programs by September, after nearly a year and a half of limitations caused by covid-19.

The library, prior to its closing for the pandemic, hosted monthly book talks, an animae club and a movie night. Special programs included a visit from the Amazeum, jugglers, a session about the ACT for teens and the federal financial aid program for their parents, a day celebrating pi (3.14), a session on native plants, how to become an American citizen and more.

The library offered 681 programs in 2019, with 17,532 in attendance, Ransom reported. That was the most recent year with full operations.

Programs are why meeting spaces are so important to libraries, Waters said. Not all people find comfort in attending meetings at churches, schools or other places that can provide space for meetings, he said.

The expansion of the Fayetteville library included a 700-seat event center, deli and a teaching kitchen. The Hunt Family Center for Innovation features a recording studio, filming and editing studio, flight simulator, virtual reality and fabrication labs and other technological hubs.

Voters in 2016 approved a property tax hike to help pay for $26.9 million of the expanded library's $50 million construction cost and increased operations. The library foundation's effort to raise $23 million to cover the rest of the construction cost is about halfway to its goal.

The Bentonville Public Library has announced plans for 65,055 square feet of new and renovated space for $15 million. The library will receive $4.97 million from a $266 million bond issue for capital projects and bond refinancing that voters approved in March.

Improvements there will include a place for outdoor programming, more study rooms, updating and expanding the children's area, a centrally located activity room and a meeting room for 300 or more people.

Rogers has no current plans for library expansion, said Director Judy Casey.

Gene Anderson, a library foundation board member, and Ransom said Springdale doesn't compete with other cities when it comes to library facilities.

"We are all different communities up and down the corridor," Anderson said. "The board is working to serve the needs of Springdale and make the library better."

Ransom sees the library as common ground.

"It's a place where people can connect with information or with each other," she said. "It's a place where people of all ages and backgrounds can connect for a common pursuit, be it for entertainment or enlightenment. At its most basic, the library is the place to connect to a good book."