Ideas for shaping libraries checked out

When Ramsey County residents were asked to rank their priorities for the seven suburban libraries, they said they wanted longer hours, more and different spaces for their computer use and more media in alternative formats such as downloadable books and CDs.

Tonight, the Ramsey County Library Board will hear a list of recommendations designed to both incorporate residents' wish lists and position the libraries for the decade ahead.

One of the most significant recommendations calls for creating three full-service libraries, with longer hours, teen programs, K-12 outreach, beverages and food, and other amenities. Shoreview, Roseville and Maplewood would be the designated full-service libraries. The other libraries would offer core services, but be tailored to community needs.

The recommendations will be reworked by the board and brought to suburban communities this spring for comment.

"We have some big financial decisions that need to be made, especially as we have [library] facilities reaching the end of their lives," said Susan Nemitz, library director. "Do we build on the same sites of the libraries? What services do we provide? And what resources will be available to us?

"The report gives us a framework for dealing with these difficult decisions."

More than 1.6 million visitors a year, including repeat visitors, walk through the doors of the seven suburban libraries every year, said Nemitz. The libraries are located in Arden Hills, Shoreview, Roseville, White Bear Lake, North St. Paul, Maplewood and Mounds View.

Residents surveyed by phone and at community meetings last year said that, overall, they were pleased with their facilities and service, Nemitz said. But their top priority was longer hours for their local libraries.

The report that will be discussed tonight was written by consultants hired last year to review the library facilities. They were Kimberly Bowlan, a national library consultant based in Indianapolis, and the Minneapolis architectural firm of Hammel, Green and Abrahamson.

More recommendations

• Under the recommendation to create three full-service libraries, the remaining libraries would continue to offer core services, such as children's programs and computers, but would be open fewer hours and be more tailored to the demands of their communities, Nemitz said.

For example, the theology and philosophy sections of the Arden Hills library are heavily used. DVD movies from India are hot items in the Mounds View library. Books on CDs are particularly popular in White Bear Lake, she said.

Library board chairman Matt Anderson said he suspected the recommendation to create two types of libraries would generate lively discussion.

• Another key recommendation is to continue to make libraries a "destination site," by locating them near community centers, coffeehouses or other locations that already generate a lot of traffic, said Anderson.

For example, North St. Paul downsized its standalone library a few years ago and moved to a far smaller location inside the downtown civic center. However, traffic at the smaller library, which is less expensive to operate, is now the same as it was in the larger facility.

• Another important suggestion is using technology to reduce demands on staff time, Nemitz said. Customers, for example, could apply for library cards and renew books online.

Nemitz and Anderson said the library board would hold public meetings at the suburban libraries to discuss the recommendations in late March or April. The library board would vote on the 10-year master plan after those meetings.

"The goal is to begin a robust conversation among the library board members and community at large that culminates in what our community wants and needs for its library in the future," Anderson said.

Jean Hopfensperger • 651-298-1553