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Chattanooga: Library task force tries to rally public support

By: Cliff Hightower
(Contact)

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June Garcia

A public meeting scheduled in two weeks is looking for public input on what type of library the community wants and how that library can handle community needs, organizers said.

A marketing campaign kicked off this week to highlight the event and is being led by the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library Task Force. As part of the campaign, the slogan “Everything will change” is painted on the side of the downtown library branch and on its fountain.

Mayor Ron Littlefield said this week he hoped the slogan helped awaken the community.

“The little shock value of the graffiti we hope gets some attention,” he said.

The mayor created the task force last year as a way to revamp the library. Chattanooga Times Free Press Executive Editor and Publisher Tom Griscom is a member of that committee.

City officials point to other revitalized library systems in Nashville, Denver and Columbus, Ga., as good examples of renewed systems. In those cities, the libraries offer cafes, art galleries and coffee, officials said. They can also include innovative children’s programs and a theater with puppets, officials said.

The City Council agreed in June to pay up to $50,000 for two consultants to come up with a long-range strategic plan for the library system.

Karen McMahon, project manager for Mr. Littlefield’s office, said Friday that several focus groups made up of business people, library patrons and educators have met over the last week. Another focus group will meet next week, she said.

The task force also is asking people to go to its Web site online and complete a survey, she said.

In the end, the task force and consultants seek the community’s vision of what the library can look like and become, she said.

“Maybe it’s time to breath new life in it,” she said. “In Chattanooga, we haven’t had that focus dialogue.”

June Garcia and Susan Kent, former librarians and the consultants hired to take on the project, will show slides at the beginning of the presentation of some of the services offered in other libraries, Ms. Garcia said.

Her job is not to come in and tell people what they will get, but listen to the community and see what it wants, she said. It could mean the public wants new and exciting options for the library or it could be more traditional, she said.

“The right mix for Chattanooga is what we’re trying to find,” she said.

Martina Kominiarek, executive director of the Bucks County (Pa.) Free Library, said Ms. Garcia came there last year and helped design a long-range plan. Budgets were stretched, she said, but Ms. Garcia helped plan goals within the library system’s financial means.

The key to success is community involvement, Ms. Kominiarek said.

“Having community members tell us what they got our attention,” she said.

In the end, the Pennsylvania library set priorities for creating programs centered around young literacy, informing the citizenry and teaching people how to do research, she said.

Karen Wallace, executive director of the Fontana Regional Library in western North Carolina, said Ms. Garcia also helped that system develop a long-range plan. Public input was the most important part, she said.

“That community input piece is really crucial to make sure you are in touch with your community,” Ms. Wallace said.

Mr. Littlefield has said in the past that private dollars could help pay for any library renovations. He said this week that, within the next four years, the city and county also will renegotiate their contract for library services and renovations could be part of those discussions.

County Commission Chairman Jim Coppinger said commissioners would be very careful about spending public dollars. Within the last month, the library task force has come before the commission to update commissioners, he said. They also said the county could appoint two members to the task force.

Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey said he would appoint those members in the coming week.

“We just want to be kept in the loop,” Mr. Coppinger said.

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