SAVE OUR SUN CITY LIBRARY OPTIONS

(See Note on the term "SOS" at end of editorial)

 

With the close of National Library Week today, the 24 of April, you are receiving this bibliotheca (library) SOS alert and call for help on a matter of impending urgency, if not disaster for Sun City's residents and our future library using community.[1]

 

We hope you will decide to answer our call for assistance when you visit our NEW LIBRARY HOME PAGE located at: http://www.scaview.org/Library.htm

 

No, do not panic, our library is not about to go up in flames, but, figuratively speaking at least, it might as well if the current “Library Modification” (LM) proposal now before the Property and Grounds Committee should become a reality. This harsh judgment is not because we do not appreciate the need for a library--we do. We just happen to believe that our community should be able to acquire a larger and more suitable library solution than the one envisaged by the "Library Modification" proposal.

 

We have a bare bones understanding of that LM proposal and we find it troubling for what it does and for what it attempts to do. The two most troubling features of the LM proposal are 1) the elimination of the Anthem Center's study/den as an informal gathering or casual meeting place; and 2) the inadequate size of that space to serve as a suitable library. That study/den is located to the left of the main entrance off the corridor leading to the Delaware Room. We believe those particular outcomes are wrong, will not serve the best interests of the community, and will be inadequate to meet the long-term library needs of our community.  

 

In its place, according to the LM proposal, that 550 sq. ft. study/den area would be reconfigured to house our library. If the elimination of the study/den were not bad enough, converting that small enclave into a library unit would not appear to create the kind of library that would be sufficient in size and quality to meet our needs. Adding, as the LM plans, 200 sq. ft. by also eliminating the adjoining alcove/sitting area in front of the Delaware Room will not materially contribute to the suitability of that overall space as a worthwhile library.   

 

• Never mind that the study/alcove room is really too small and quite inadequate for the purpose of housing a suitable library, one that would be sufficient to serve the future needs of 11,000 residents;

• Never mind that due to its very small size, that library would eventually become a storehouse for primarily paperback books, a regrettable outcome;

• Never mind that we will loose that space as an informal gathering/meeting room as well as the adjoining alcove sitting area; and

• Never mind that once done, there will be little if any opportunity or chance that our community would ever acquire or create a more suitable community library.

 

One must seriously question whether we really want to forego the delight of having available that quite beautiful study/den as an informal gathering/meeting place in favor of a room that eventually, due to its limited capacity, will be predominantly filled with paperback books. We do not think so and hope that you will agree.

 

Because of our concerns over the LM proposal and what admittedly would be an inadequate and ill-equipped library, we have made an alternate library proposal to the Property and Grounds Committee. We refer to this alternate proposal as the "New Library" proposal to distinguish it from the "Library Modification" proposal.

 

The importance of our proposal lies not so much in the library's location or in the details, but in the recognition that there is a need for the community to revisit the Library issue for Sun City Anthem. We suggest that if we were able to identify one potential library location as an alternative to the LM proposal, others from the community, acting individually or as a committee, may be able to identify other potential library locations as well.  

 

Residents should be aware that there are fine library facilities located in other age-qualified communities. We identified two. While we do not need to duplicate the 1,600 sq. ft. library (hardback books only) at one such facility, along with 3 additional smaller libraries containing paperback books only, for half the number of homes we will have at build out, we do need to take better stock by assessing our community's long-term library needs. Working together, we should be able to achieve a better, more acceptable library solution than the one envisaged by the LM proposal.

 

We are repeatedly told that Del Webb will not provide any more additional building space. But we can all recall when the Del Webb genie raised its head briefly but long enough as the RAC was about to wind up its business last year to gin up a whirlwind of next to impossible amenities, like the second indoor pool, a 6,000 sq. ft. theater/hall, and space for community services. There’s just no telling what might be possible when it comes down to decisions that would help our community meet their library needs.  

 

Whether we can or cannot acquire more space is less important to the library issue than the prospect of being able to tap that genie one more time for a little help in our efforts to find a mutually agreeable library solution. After all, we only have to look at what Del Web did for Sun City Palm Desert as a guide for what might be possible here. Surely, if there is a will, there should be a way.

 

Please visit our web site where you will find our New Library Home Page, with Links to a Fact Sheet and a drawing of a suggestive layout of how the library might be configured. And when you do visit, please consider joining our SOS efforts to provide our community with a library facility befitting and meeting the needs of our community.

 

Ron Johnson

The Sun City Anthem View

---