Decisions about Neighborhood Libraries were made based upon a variety of factors including input from residents during the past two years; professional judgment of staff, specifically the neighborhood staff serving the public, and basic standards for service and facilities; consistency with the Library's mission; conformance to neighborhood planning, taking advantage of opportunities for adjacencies, co-locations, and collaboration; the state of current facilities and need to renovate or add where possible, while respecting the integrity of historic facilities; current use of the library, as well as current and projected population.

This plan expands the total program area of all Neighborhood Libraries by 82 percent, for a new total of 236,776 sq. ft. Compare this with these other city library systems:

Denver Public Library: 22 branches total 190,742 sq. ft.

San Francisco Public Library: 26 branches total 150,947 sq. ft.

Vancouver Public Library: 21 branches total 126,000 sq. ft.

Additionally, the Library Board and staff spent time talking with underserved neighborhoods, including South Park, Georgetown, Sand Point, and West Seattle Junction. To ensure that there remains flexibility to design services for these areas or to take advantage of future co-location opportunities, the capital plan recommends an "Opportunity Fund" of $6,000,000. Throughout the year, the Board of Trustees will continue to engage neighborhoods in further discussion about development of services and future opportunities.

While new facilities for Neighborhood Libraries are vitally needed, capital development alone will not meet all their needs. Therefore, the capital plan also recommends a major increase in operating expenses over the next six years not only to handle building and staffing needs for the new and improved facilities, but an overall increase during fiscal years 1999-2000 to raise the allocation for books by 50%, to increase open hours at all locations, and to improve access to and ease of use of technology.

In order to meet our vision of Neighborhood Libraries, we recommend the following capital improvements:

New Neighborhood Library Facilities

• Delridge: 5,000 sq. ft.
• International District: 4,000 sq. ft.
• Northgate: 10,000 sq. ft.

Replace Current Neighborhood Library Facilities

• Ballard: Replace current 7,296 sq. ft. facility with 15,000 sq. ft. library
• Beacon Hill: Replace current 3,200 sq. ft. facility with 10,000 sq. ft. library
• Greenwood: Replace current 7,085 sq. ft. facility with 15,000 sq. ft. library
• High Point: Replace current 2,067 sq. ft. facility with 7,000 sq. ft. library
• Montlake: Replace current 1,574 sq. ft. facility with 5,000 sq. ft. library
• North Capitol Hill (Henry Library): Replace current 4,904 sq. ft. facility with 10,000 sq. ft. library

Additions to Current Neighborhood Library Facilities

• Broadview: Add 6,595 sq. ft. for total of 15,000 sq. ft.
• Columbia: Add 5,440 sq. ft. for total of 11,278 sq. ft.
• Douglass-Truth: Add 6,992 sq. ft. for total of 15,000 sq. ft.
• Lake City: Add 5,987 sq. ft. for total of 15,000 sq. ft.
• North East: Add 7,958 sq. ft. for total of 15,000 sq. ft.
• Rainier Beach: Add 5,994 sq. ft. for total of 15,000 sq. ft.
• Southwest: Add 7,443 sq. ft. for total of 15,000 sq. ft.

Relocation of Neighborhood Libraries to Improved Facilities

• Wallingford-Wilmot: Move to improved facility of same size (2,000 sq. ft.) with co-location opportunities
• Holly Park: Move and double size to 4,000 sq. ft.

Interior Improvements to Current Neighborhood Libraries

• Green Lake, Madrona-Sally Goldmark, Magnolia, Queen Anne, and University
• Expand interior space at Fremont (780 sq. ft.) and West Seattle (2,323 sq. ft.)

The capital cost of these improvements to the Neighborhood Library system, including the Opportunity Fund and technology and collection improvements, is $75,376,000. Improvements for each Neighborhood Library are described in alphabetical order on the following pages.

We look forward to the next steps of working with the neighborhoods, users and non-users alike, to ensure that the Seattle Public Library meets public needs and expectations.