Orange County NC Website
l <br />REVISED 9/16/03 <br />r <br />2 ' <br />During the County budget process, speakers from the Friends of the Carrboro Branch Library <br />brought forward questions. and concerns about the County. investment in the "Cybrary" as <br />opposed to enhancements at McDougle. Meanwhile, some Carrboro residents had participated <br />in community planning meetings in which the development of a library was mentioned as one of <br />several possibilities for amixed-use development on land across from the Weaver Street <br />Market, creating perhaps another option for public investment. <br />With these public discussions in the background, and given the County's own need and desire <br />to re-evaluate its co-location at McDougle and the accompanying questions about facility <br />maintenance and capital improvements, the Board of County Commissioners asked that County <br />staff return in the fall with a suitable charge and suggested composition for a work group to <br />examine all issues pertinent to a library presence in Carrboro and detail recommendations on <br />how to proceed. To that extent, both the County and the Town have reserved the projected <br />cost estimates in the current operating budget in anticipation of a joint decision making process. <br />County staff has developed the following proposal for a committee charge and composition for <br />the Board to consider: <br />Carrboro Library Workgroup <br />Charcte <br />Review issues and options relative to an Orange County Library presence in Carrboro and <br />provide recommendations to the. Board of County Commissioners in a timeframe that allows <br />consideration and inclusion in the annual budget process. <br />Composition <br />One Representative -Board of Commissioners <br />One Representative -Carrboro Board of Aldermen <br />One Representative -Chapel Hill-Carrboro School District <br />One Representative -Friends. of the Carrboro library <br />One Representative -Library Services Task Force <br />One Representative -McDougle Partnership <br />Orange County Library Director Brenda Stephens <br />After consulting with the McDougle staff as well as with representatives of the Friends of the <br />Can'boro Branch Library during the month of August, the points listed below have emerged as <br />major issues of concern. These can provide the basis for the start of discussions as may be <br />shaped and determined by the BOCC. <br />Friends of the Carrboro Library <br />1. Would like to see Carrboro Branch .Library hours increase to include uniform evening and <br />Saturday service. <br />2. Would chose to build and strengthen the current McDougle/Carrboro Branch Library until <br />such time Carrboro can have afree-standing library facility rather than divide public <br />library service in multiple Carrboro locations. <br />3. Would like to acquire and keep a current McDougle/Carrboro Branch Library contract to <br />protect both the school system, the County, and their respective employees, as well as <br />fulfill the expectations for library service for residents and students of the County. <br />