Happy 4th of July everyone! Or, Happy Independence Day! We will be making an appearance in the next few hours at Washington Park for the City’s annual Independence Day celebration and picnic. The Mayor plans to give his State of the City address. I’ve heard that he will mention the Sunnyvale Library of the Future. I’m very excited to hear his speech. I hope people will come by our booth to ask about the project, too.

This is probably one of our last appearances at a public event where we can easily talk about the project. It is possible that discussions about the new library project will shift to campaign mode in a few months and that’s not something we do in the library. The library advocates will launch a campaign to build the library. Staff will only supply the facts about the project, such as why such a project is proposed, what problems will the new library resolve, how much it will cost, how long it will take. Staff cannot be involved in advocacy.

Oh, didn’t I tell you?!!!? The City Council voted on June 19 to move forward with the next stage of the Sunnyvale Library of the Future! By that I mean that Council voted to direct staff to complete the work required to include a funding request to the voters for the new library on the November 2007 election ballot. The funding for such a project is the issue now. The need for the new library has been well established. We ran out of space to support the Sunnyvale community many years ago, as noted in a study as far back as 1992. Results of a current, comprehensive study of community needs through 2030, indicate that Sunnyvale needs a library of approximately 143,500 square feet.

There are impediments to improving the current library facility and it would be more expensive then building a new library. Having added on to the building through two expansion projects, along with the brick construction of the library, the building is a series of adjoining rooms that do not flow very well for library use and leave little room for the improvements needed. New technologies require wired access, electrical connections, hardwiring as well, all of which are extremely difficult to add in the current building. In fact, staff has been told that we are at capacity for phones and computers. There’s no logical way to make new connections that are needed. We are at absolute capacity for people too. If you have seen the children’s room, you know it is cramped and not so attractive.

So on July 17, we will take to Council the actual wording for an election ballot measure to fund the new library!!! The measure will most likely talk a little bit about the "why" in terms of what are the library needs and then get to the point of "what" would be approved. Due to the cost of such a project, the City is now proposing to build an 116,000 s.f. library at the corner of Olive and Charles across from City Hall. The new library is projected to cost $108M, which based on a community survey, seems to be about what community members would be willing to pay for their new library in Sunnyvale.

There are temporary buildings on the site and Council leased the vacant part of the expansion space for the project to the community garden last year, for a five-year period. Council has indicated they would like for staff and the community garden group to work collaboratively. They would like for the architects to creatively incorporate the concept of a community garden in the new library plan. When the architects are hired for the actual library plan, the various needs of the library, the site requirements, entry/exit, parking needs, and the community garden will all be taken into account. Community meetings will also help staff and the architects review all needs for the project.

It should be noted that the cost estimate anticipates that it takes a few years to plan and complete construction of the building. In the meantime, the construction costs tend to escalate. Also, the City Council is committed to building an environmentally sustainable or "green" library, so there are upfront costs that have to be taken into account for these additional features. There is a possibility that the State of California will have additional grant funds for libraries through a proposed statewide ballot measure. If that occurs and Sunnyvale is a successful applicant, then the library could be built at the recommended size of approximately 143,500 s.f. A lot of the possibility for obtaining additional funds depends on approval processes as well as timing.

So, if you happen to be in the area today, please stop by our booth and talk with us about the Sunnyvale Library of the Future. We will have lots of interesting things for families and children at our booth, too. Also, this may be the last chance at one of these events to say hello to our Head of Children’s Services, Betsy Wachter. After some 30 wonderful years of serving children and families in Sunnyvale, Betsy will be retiring from what she has said has been a truly rewarding career.

See you at the picnic…