9 January 2002

Seattle Public Library board of trustees expected to further narrow sites for new South Park Library Jan. 22

The public is invited to comment on where to build the new South Park Library at the next meeting of the Seattle Public Library board of trustees at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22 at the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library, 2021 Ninth Ave. The Library Board is expected to discuss and further narrow sites for the new branch at the meeting. For more information, call Douglas Bailey, Library project manager, 206-386-4173.

On Nov. 27, the Library Board narrowed to four the number of potential locations for the new 5,000-square-foot library to:

South Cloverdale Street and Eighth Avenue South (apartment building);
14th Avenue South and South Donovan Street (three businesses);
South Cloverdale Street and Eighth Avenue South (southwest corner, one business, one residence);
10th Avenue South & South Elmgrove Street (park).

Since then, Library staff has thoroughly evaluated the four sites and talked with property owners. Bailey is expected to brief the board on Jan. 22.

The South Park site must be about 15,000 square feet to accommodate the building, parking, and landscaping. Library siting criteria require that branches be situated in areas frequently visited by all segments of a community, close to or on primary streets and transit routes, and highly visible to passers-by.

The new branch will have a collection of 18,700 books and materials, a special area for children, modern computer work stations and instructional spaces, a meeting room, and parking.

The $2.53 million project is being funded out of the Opportunity Fund, a special fund created as part of the "Libraries for All" bond measure to be used for new or unanticipated neighborhood library capital needs for underserved areas of Seattle. Voters approved the $196.4 million bond measure in 1998. The plan calls for improving or replacing all 22 branch libraries, building five new branches and building a new central library.

The Seattle Public Library Foundation is in the midst of a "Campaign for Seattle's Public Libraries" with the goal of raising $75 million from private sources to enhance the public bond commitment. Every dollar raised will ensure the library system reflects our community's needs in buildings, books, technology and people, long into the future. For more information about "Libraries for All" or the Foundation, visit the Library's Web site at www.spl.org.

(For more information, call Caroline Young Ullmann, communications assistant, at 206-615-1627.)

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Content modified: 9 January 2002

12/30/2005