Library expansion will serve current, future needs. (Coloradoan, 5/3/2012)
Excerpt: Our library system has changed a lot since voters approved a library district in 2006. We appreciate our patrons' feedback and are always disappointed when someone has a bad experience at the library. A soapbox author recently took us to task for having reduced our collection size and questioned our use of the term "expansion" to describe the current construction project.
We are adding 9,000 square feet of public space to the Main Library; 6,000 of that is new construction. Changes are occurring daily; and by the time our project is completed, we will have added space to the community room, children's section, the computer center and all book display areas. These are real physical changes. The old floor space was crowded; there were handicap accessibility problems; and we had many shelves of books that were not reachable by the average patron.
We timed the weeding of our collection to coincide with the construction project to minimize the labor in moving duplicate or unused books. With-drawal of out-of-date, superseded or worn books and multiple copies of former bestsellers must be done on a continuous basis to make room for new materials. Withdrawn items are donated to the Friends of the Library, who sell and recycle the items. The Friends return the proceeds for good services at the library.
Weeding is a fact of life in libraries.
Related post:
Author Laura Pritchett Experiences "Great Sick-Feeling Shock" Over Fort Collins Library Expansion. (4/29/2012)
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