Wizard Marks:"This is a time not to panic. We are too invested in this building of a new library to back out at this juncture."WM: If the news had come a few days sooner, before they knocked down the building, a different set of variables would be in play. It is probably not going to cost much less to hold off building a library in cold cash; however, huge amounts of the collection are in storage, the hours are cut to threads already. At this juncture, Minneapolis has a good library system, but it's not great. It could become a less good system if we screw around with the time lines MPL has advertised and patrons get fed up waiting.
Straw man, Wizard. No one is "panicking". On the contrary, we're trying FINALLY to spend SENSIBLY about this thing. And "in too deep to back out" is con game talk. It is NEVER too late to avoid a foolish mistake.
In my mind, the covetous looks at the Library referendum money by the city council and the mayor set off red flags.
Question to whoever out there has the answer: can Pelli sue us if we stop now?
Or, can we change to a less extravagant plan that fulfills our needs to house the library we already have?
We cannot keep big pieces of the collection in untouchable storage past 2006. Even in my paltry use of the research function of MPL I've been frustrated several times by "Not Available till 2006" attached to a book's entry in the catalog. This decision could destroy the integrity of MPL as a library system. I'm not willing to make that kind of sacrifice to the almighty dollar, even when it's my dollar.
It's hardly a straw man.
"it will be much more expensive to have the library stay in the "temporary" building which was not designed to hold the weight of books"WM: Thank you for assuming that I don't know what I'm talking about. Among the other strange phenomena of the universe is the fact that librarians all know how much strength the floors need to have to hold the books. They know it the same way they know the mil rate in nearby cities and Gertrude Stein's address in Paris. The other fact is that I asked the question several years ago when Meyer, Sheerer Rockcastle was designing the revitalized Hosmer Library. Further, in the process of discussing moving to the temporary building, I was given the information about the building the library currently rents. "There will have to be considerable structural change for the building to hold the weight of the books," was the answer from the Director of Community Libraries and from board members.
How do you know that. Considering Thomas' idea, I think an independent engineering opinion is most appropriate, not these amateur guesses.
The other information librarians and board members shared with me is that it would cost as much if not more to retro-fit the temporary address as it will cost to build the new. However, since the temporary building is more vertical than horizontal, it will definitely cost more in staff wages to run it. While wages are the biggest cost for public libraries, it is also true that a library cannot enlarge the number of employees and keep library costs down into the future.
WizardMarks, Central Who has worked at MPL's Hosmer Community Library for the last 3 years as a VISTA Volunteer
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