Agenda - 12-12-2006-9e - Laserfiche WebLink

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a3 Orange County Library Long-Range Facility Planning The design of the facility should take into account the different needs of the various user populations, so that all will feel welcome Appendix D summarizes a discussion with the Vice President of DTCC_: regarding same of the above issues and specific, requirements the Library would need to fulfill in its role as a community college library. Orange County Heritage Center The 2001 Library Task Force recommended the establislunent of an Orange County Heritage Center to consolidate and preserve historical materials and to make them readily accessible to researchers,. This recommendation. is reaffirmed in this report. If a site is selected for a new Central Library in the downtown area, it is recatrunended that the Heritage Center be housed in that library,. If not, previous discussions identified the location of Hassell and Try, an Streets as a preferred location. A building constructed there and designed to reflect the historic character of the community would contribute to the appeal of the downtown area, Another option is to locate the center in the current library facility, thus reducing construction casts, If this option is chosen, environmental concerns must be addressed and the facility renovated to be conducive to the preservation of archival materials. One concern noted by staff is the amount of light coming into the main reading area, resulting in deterioration of~printed materials. The Archival Task Force is in the process of inventorying materials that might be housed in tlae facility. The types of materials already identified include books, periodicals, various types of primary and secondary historic documents, maps, photographs, and organizational records. Other possible resources include video and audio recordings, including collections of oral history, In addition to housing the resources, the facility will require staff and materials processing space, space for researchers, gathering spaces for sympasiurns and speakers, display areas, and security including lockers far visitors' bags. A private trust fund in the amount of approximately $120,000 is available to support the North Carolina Collection ofthe public library and could be applied to the establislnnent of this center. Hillsbarou~h C brarw or' Neighborhood Branch It is also recommended that, if a new central library is constructed outside of the downtown area, the Heritage Center house a small neighborhood branch library to serve residents of downtown Hillsborough. A substantial number of the current users of the Orange County Library live downtown and value being able to walk to the facility. In addition, it would offer service convenience to users of the Heritage Center and the opportunity for shared staff, program room, and equipment. It is estimated that a facility of 8,000 to 10,000 square feet would optimally serve both of these functions (see Appendix E); however, a final determination on size depends on decisions still to be made regarding the materials to be housed in the Heritage Center and the goals for future collection development. A note regarding digitization of materials: rt is lb