Fayetteville Public Library data review

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
SPACE NEEDS ASSESSMENT Prepared by Anders C.
Dahlgren Library Planning Associates,
Inc. Normal, IL April 4, 2008
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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Goal of the study
• To identify service and resource inventory goals
  to meet the needs of the community over the next
  generation
• To define the long-term space needs of the
  library
• To evaluate strategic planning considerations
  that emerge as a result of those findings
• Todays goal
• To share study findings
• To hear your reactions, concerns questions

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Space needs assessment method
• Collection space
• Books
• Magazines
• Videos and audio recordings
• Electronic information resources
• (computers for public use)
• Reader seating space
• Staff work space
• Meeting / program space
• Special use space
• Nonassignable space

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Data was gathered from a variety of sources
• Library annual report data, tracking the
  librarys progress over time
• Comparative benchmark analyses, placing the
  library in the context of peer groups statewide,
  regionally, nationwide
• The librarys patron database
• Interviews conducted with the Board of Trustees
• Interviews with staff
• Key informant interviews conducted with numerous
  individual opinion leaders from the community
• Four group interviews with community
  representatives

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Data review volumes held
• Increased from over
• 105,200 (1997) to over
• 145,400 (2006)
• An increase of 38.2
• Average net increase
• more than 3,900 volumes
• per year
• Average gross increase
• over 3,900 volumes per year (high of 5,680 in
  2002, low of 2,984 in 2005)
• In most years, the library registered a net
  growth in print holdings, but in four years
  withdrawals outpaced additions

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Data review nonprint held
• Audio increased from over
• 2,800 to over 5,800 an
• increase of about 100
• Video increased from over
• 2,600 to over 4,600 an
• increase of 76
• In 1992 the library held 2.3 nonprint for every
  100 print volumes held by 2006 that ratio
  increased to 7.2 nonprint for every 100 print held

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Data review circulation
• Stable during first part of
• last decade, then up down
• Peak of 226,000 in 2004
• 172,900 transactions in
• 2006 (decrease of 23.5)
• Ratio between adult and childrens circulation
  relatively constant
• Adult circ averages 70.4 of total
• Adult circ 68 to 70 of total most years

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Existing data review key observations
• Collection resources have generally expanded over
  the last ten years
• Nonprint holdings have increased at a rate 3x as
  fast as print holdings reflecting patron interest
  in and demands for new formats
• Traditional measures of use (such as circulation)
  show a mixed pattern from year to year, decline
  over time cause uncertain
• Anecdotally, nontraditional measures of use (web
  hits, in-house patron computer use sessions) are
  increasing
• Balance among revenue sources and expenditures
  has been constant over time (local sources
  about 75 of total revenue, personnel costs about
  69 of total expenditures, collection costs 15
  of total)

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Comparative service benchmark findings three
  peer groups
• Libraries in MS serving 50,000 to 100,000
  population (n13)
• Libraries in region serving 50,000 to 100,000
  population (n50)
• Libraries nationwide serving 50,000 to 100,000
  population (n538)

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Patron mapping 50 or fewer uses / 200 or more
  uses

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Projected service population
• 77,911

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Recommended service and resource inventories
• Collections
• 190,000 volumes (66th percentile / national
  peers)
• 250 magazines (40th percentile / national peers)
• 22,600 audiovisual items (75th percentile /
  national peers)
• 100 computers for public use (95th percentile /
  national peers)
• Seating 200 reader seats
• Staffing 37 stations
• Meeting / programming
• Auditorium to seat 250
• Multi-purpose room for 150
• Conference / board room for 16
• Childrens storytime room for 50

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Recommended space need based on service and
  resource inventories

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Strategic planning issues expansion strategies
• Build on
• Must integrate existing with new
• The site does not appear to be large enough to
  support full build-out
• Other limitations (multiple entries, poor
  vertical circulation, power dist)
• Build new
• Designed for optimum operational effectiveness
• Designed for ADA compliance
• Supports todays power distribution, data
  transmission needs
• Minimizes disruption of interim / construction
  conditions
• Selection of a new site
• Disposition of the existing building
• Convert an existing structure

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Strategic planning issues site selection
• Site size about 4.8 acres needed exclusive of
  allowance for future expansion
• Building floorplate
• On-site parking (228-304 cars)
• Landscaping / easements / set-backs
• Central location
• Cost / availability
• Visibility
• Adjacent uses / services
• Vehicular access / pedestrian access
• Topography / existing conditions
• Utilities
• Zoning

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Strategic planning issues branch library
  services
• Reasons for developing branches
• Basic physical access
• Geographic barriers
• Political conditions
• Site constraints

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Strategic planning issues branch library
  services
• Branch library deployment
• Statistics confirm the common-sense observation
  that larger libraries are more likely to deploy
  branches
• The larger the community, the more branches are
  likely to be deployed
• A population of 50,000 seems to be the no
  branch / branch tipping point
• For libraries serving 60,000 to 79,999
  population, 36 have no branch and 64 have one
  or more (15 have one, 12 have two)

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Strategic planning issues branch library
  services
• Access / drive-time studies
• Drive-time survey

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Strategic planning issues branch library
  services SUMMARY
• There is some evidence that introducing branch
  libraries may be warranted
• There was some support for branch libraries
  voiced among key informant and group interviews,
  but not overwhelmingly so
• Confirm current accessibility by way of a formal
  drive-time survey
• THE BOTTOM LINE the librarys need to address
  the space deficiency at the current library is
  greater than the imperative to expand services
  via branches address those needs ensure a
  strong foundation for service before
  considering branch service

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Strategic planning issues staging expansion
• Total project costs to pursue the full build-out
  may be too great
• Evaluate sites and make selection with the full
  build-out in mind
• Scale an initial phase to accommodate the
  librarys IMMEDIATE space needs some room for
  growth
• An optimum initial allocation would fall toward
  the middle of the difference between the
  librarys long-term and immediate space needs

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Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library
Space Needs Assessment

• Got questions?