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with no expansion of the library. Even in 1981, the facility did not meet the standard for an <br />adequately sized central library." <br />Evelyn Daniel thanked the Board for allowing her to serve on this task force. She said <br />that they were able to hire a consultant, Dale Gaddis, who is the retired Director of Durham <br />County Public Library. She said that the task force was charged to review the November 2001 <br />report and to recommend improvements to Orange County libraries, particularly to examine the <br />co-location option for a central library and to consider combining some branches in Carrboro. <br />The task force endorsed the minimum standard for library services from the 2001 report. The <br />report recommended increasing funding for the central library to the state average by 2004, <br />and the County Commissioners were able to increase this. It is still somewhat below state <br />average, but it is progress. <br />The third recommendation was to add a library in the northern and southern parts of <br />the County, and this was done with the Cedar Grove branch and the Cybrary in Carrboro. <br />The fourth recommendation was to create an Orange County Heritage Center to collect <br />historical materials. This has not yet been done. <br />She said that, with their consultant, they examined library services very thoroughly. <br />They met with a number of groups. She summarized the findings. <br />Findings: <br />- There is confusion with citizens about the current system of library governance and <br />funding responsibilities. There is also confusion about the Chapel Hill Library, which is <br />municipal, and the Hillsborough library, which is a County library. <br />- There continues to be a disparity in the level of library services for the population. <br />Members of the northern part are less well served than the southern part. <br />- The central library facility is substandard, and so there is heavy dependence on the <br />Chapel Hill library. <br />- Access to historical records is very limited. <br />She made reference to the substandard central library facility, and pointed out some <br />statistics. The state standard says that there should be two books per capita in the County <br />library. There are only .88. The state standard says that there should be full-time equivalent <br />staff members of one for each 2,000 members of the population, and there are only .27. The <br />state guideline for the income per capita is $18.88, and in 2002 the income for the central <br />library was $10.12. This has been increased in 2004 to $12.02. <br />She made reference to the population projections and said that they need to look 20 <br />years into the future. They anticipate, from Planning Department estimates, that the <br />population they need to plan for is 100,000. The anticipated highest growth is within the ages <br />of 45-59. The juvenile group of 5-14 is also growing faster than the average. The Hispanic <br />population is also growing. <br />After examining a lot of data and collecting opinions from citizens, the task force has <br />nine recommendations to make to the County Commissioners: <br />1. Adopt along-range 20-year facility plan. This includes a new central library, a <br />southwest regional branch in Carrboro, a northern branch in Cedar Grove, a western <br />branch to serve Cheeks, and the Chapel Hill Public Library to serve the southeast <br />region. <br />2. Develop a 3-5 year strategic action plan for equitable library services and resources for <br />all County residents. <br />