Facilities Master Plan

120 Pages·2008·5.06 MB·English

RAMSEY COUNTY LIBRARY
FACILITIES MASTER PLAN
June 18, 2008
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RAMSEY COUNTY LIBRARY
FACILITIES MASTER PLAN 2008-2018
June 18, 2008
Jane Dedering
Tim Carl
Mia Blanchett
Brent Peterson
Gretta Fry
HGA, INC.
Kim Bolan
KIMBERLY BOLAN & ASSOCIATES
Susan Nemitz
LIBRARY DIRECTOR
Lynn Wyman, Sandy Walsh
ASSISTANT DIRECTORS
Chuck Wettergren
AUTOMATION & TECHNICAL SERVICES MANAGER
Julie Neville
FACILITIES MANAGER
Burton M. Nygren
LIBRARY BOARD
Carol Morphew
RAMSEY COUNTY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
RAMSEY COUNTY LIBRARY BOARD
Matthew L. Anderson, Chair
Lori-Anne Williams, Vice Chair
Burton M. Nygren, Secretary
Beverly Aplikowski
David L. Norrgard
Bob Lamb
Roberta Weltzin
RAMSEY COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Tony Bennett | Jan Parker | Janice Rettman | Toni Carter
Rafael Ortega | Jim McDonough | Victoria Reinhardt
www.rclreads.org

RAMSEY COUNTY LIBRARY
FACILITIES MASTER PLAN 2008-2018
June 18, 2008
S I. INTROdUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
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II. PROCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
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III. ENvIRONMENTAL INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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A. Library Roles in the 21st Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
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B. Demographic Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

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L C. Library Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
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A D. Library Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
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E. Library Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
F. Time and Motion Study Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
G. Stakeholder Input: Common Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Iv. FACILITY ASSESSMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
A. Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
B. Site Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
C. Building Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
D. Arden Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
E. Maplewood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
F. Mounds View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
G. North St. Paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
H. Roseville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
I. Shoreview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
J. White Bear Lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
v. CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
vI. RECOMMENdATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
A. Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
B. Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
vII. APPENdIx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

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INTRODUCTION 1
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INTROdUCTION
The Ramsey County Library is governed by a seven-member Library Board appointed
by the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners. The system consists of seven libraries
(Arden Hills, Maplewood, Mounds View, North St. Paul, Roseville, Shoreview, and
White Bear Lake) serving a population of 227,873 over an area of 117 square miles.
In 2007 the Library circulated 4,214,298 items and was visited 1,788,536 times.
The Library has 263,633 active cardholders, of which 96,872 are non-residents.
Over the last ten years, circulation has grown 59 percent, visits have increased by
38 percent, and staffing has been flat. Funding has not kept pace with demand for
services.
In 2001, a Library Task Force found that the system’s facilities:
• Were short of space based upon regional and national standards
• Had deferred maintenance problems and ADA issues
• Needed upgrading to meet the technological demands of patrons
• Needed to redesign circulation and delivery spaces to improve operational
efficiency
In 2003, the Library Board created a phased capital plan.
Phase One was approved by the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners in December
2003. A 2,600-square-foot library was built within the North St. Paul Community
Center to replace a 10,000-square-foot facility closed in 2003 as a result of a rev-
enue shortfall. The new library opened in March of 2005. A planned remodeling
of the library in Maplewood was rendered impractical by soil problems, insufficient
parking, and other issues. Instead, the $7.9 million was reallocated to build a new
31,000-square-foot library nearby. The old building was sold, paying for the new
library’s site and resulting in $1,000,000 to be applied to Phase Two. A pre-design
was completed for the library in Roseville, and the land north of the library was pur-
chased in preparation for that library’s expansion.
Phase Two will completely remodel the Roseville Library, expand it to 73,000 square
feet, and increase the available parking by 50 percent. Phase Two was approved
by the County Board of Commissioners in December of 2007. Design will begin in
2008 with the opening of the remodeled facility planned for 2010. As a part of this
phase, the Commissioners also approved $1,000,000 to install RFID throughout the
library system.
RAMSEY COUNTY LIBRARY FACILITIES MASTER PLAN 2008-2018
2 INTRODUCTION
Phase Three proposed tearing down the current library in Arden Hills and building a
larger facility on the same site. In 2003, the Library Board was forced to recommend
the closure of the library in Arden Hills due to a loss of revenue. Ultimately, the County
provided minimal operational funding to keep the library open. The proposed closure
left the concept of a larger library on the same site in question. A citizen task force
(the Northwest Area Library Access Task Force) was formed, and throughout 2005 the
group wrestled with the best way of providing library service in the northwest portion
of the county. There was a lack of consensus around any one option.
All of Ramsey County’s libraries are busier than average when compared to other area
libraries of similar size. Library use in every category has been trending up for the
past ten years, and indications are that this will continue. The extreme volume of use
experienced by Ramsey County’s libraries takes a toll on buildings and furnishings.
Increasing demands for public library services have raised concerns that existing facili-
ties and their ability to support technology and automation will be insufficient to meet
the needs of the residents of Ramsey County over the next ten years.
The Library decided to examine system-wide service delivery holistically, to evaluate
the state of the library’s current buildings, and to develop a system of principles to be
applied to future building and service decisions.
RAMSEY COUNTY LIBRARY FACILITIES MASTER PLAN 2008-2018