HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005 01 10 Reports Item 605 Mayor Librairies
Date: 01/10/2005
The following document was noted under Mayor
John Bush's Report on 1/10/05.
Seminole County Mayors & Managers
Library Expansion Subcommittee Report
January 2005
In March and May of 2004, Seminole County staff presented a history and status of the
Seminole County Public Library System to the Seminole County Mayors and Managers.
The Library Expansion Subcommittee was formed by the Seminole County Mayors and
Managers in May of2004. Monthly meetings were held from June through November
2004. This report is a summary of committee progress to date and recommendations for
future action.
Background
The Seminole County Public Library System was established in 1974:thro~gh a non-
binding referendum in which voters approved the levy of one half (la)tJ].il of ad valorem
taxation for countywide public library service. Illi1975 countywide libi$tyservice was
initiated in Seminole County through a contract\'rith the Odando Public Lib~ to
operate branches in Casselberry and Sanford and toprovicJebookmobile serVice. This
contract was terminated in 1978 with the creation of tile Seminole County Public Library
System.
In 1982 a referendum was held in whichVot~.aJ?Proved exp1Ul~jon of the Public Library
System by issuance of $7,000,000 in Library Bondg./This resulted in the construction of
five new library facilities from 1986 through 1988. The$~.are the current branches
located in Casselberry (Centntl),Oviedo (East), Sanford(North), Lake Mary (Northwest)
and Longwood (West).
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The library system has been operating under the present collection level of service
standard of 1.0 books per capita since 1991. However, in FY 1997/98 the Board of
County Commissioners raised the level of service to 1.5 volumes per capita for budgetary
purposes. A phased program to reach this level continued until FY 2002/03 when the
library buildings no longer had the capacity to hold additional volumes.
The Library System Impact Fee was adopted on April 9, 1991, and became effective in
both the unincorporated area and in the incorporated municipal areas of Seminole County
on June 1, 1991. The impact fee is codified as Chapter 115 of the Land Development
Code.
The fee of $54 per residential dwelling unit is for the purchase of books only and is
calculated on a standard of 1.0 books per capita. Buildin~~ furnishings and/or equipment
are not included. As currently allowed, expenditures of the fee areli.mited to new books
added to the library collection to meet future growth needs.
The fee is effective Countywide, with provisiolllrulde for municipal contributiQn credits
in the event of a City's enactment of its own public library impact fee. Pursuant to this
section, a municipal credit results in no County library impact fee within the City of
Altamonte Springs. However, 90% (38,471 of 42,466) of the Altamonte Springs
population are registered users of the SeD1inole County Public Library System.
From 1988, when the last library building was constructed, through 2003 the population
of Seminole County has increased by 41 %. . Library circulation for the same time period
has increased 172%. Thecmzen' s of Seminole County are heavy library users with 73 %
of the population holding library.cards. In 2004 Seminole County ranked 3rd highest in
the state for the number of registered borrowers among large, urban counties. In Orange
County only 29% ofthefJOP~Ia.ti()nare registered borrowers. In addition, Seminole
County is first in the state for children's. program attendance per capita among the large,
urban counties.
In 2002, Seminole County staff conducted site surveys of the East, North, Northwest and
West braneblibraries to de~rmine the capacity of each of these sites for expansion. The
study determined. that eXparlSion of the Northwest and North Branch Libraries beyond
current building footprint and parking spaces is not feasible. The East Branch has the
potential to expand an additional 8,000 square feet for a total building size of 20,000
square feet, with the acquisition of 2 outparcels. The West Branch has the potential to
expand an additional 10,000 square feet.
!Branch Current Site Capacity
lCentral (Casselberry) 50,000 50,000
lEast (Oviedo) 12,000 20,000
1N0rth (Sanford) 12,000 13,500
2
Northwest (Lake Mary) 12,000 12,000
West (Longwood) 12,000 22,000
r otal 98,000 117,500
Customer Demand
. Library users consistently request services that cannot be accommodated within
the current facilities, such as a videolDVD collection, additional computers, word
processors, quiet study areas, more parking, computer classes and a Books by
Mail program.
. The Seminole County Public Library System serves a populauop that grew 77,678
or 27% between 1990 and 2000. Libraries lire at capacity lacking space for more
materials, equipment, patron seating, and parking.
. From 1988 through 2003 alone the annual circuhJ.tion of books and other materials
increased 172% and at the close ofFY 2003/04 is over 2.6 million.
. Library branches lack space to accotnlllodate a variety of simultaneous uses and
levels of activity - people who want quietreadillg space often find themselves in
the middle of groups working on projects, tutor-student literacy teams, a queue of
people waiting fotc()lt1puters or active children waiting for library programming.
. There is limited room to accommodate more books and other materials in the
current buildings,Thefaciliti~s ",ere constructed to hold 500,000 books. There
areno)V534,000 in t~conection.Even so, holdings per capita at 1.34 fall short
ofthe State$tanc;lard of2.Q per capita. There is a need for more materials and the
space to housetl1em.
. The Seminole County Public Library System directly supports education through
its programs and serVices. 25% of all reference inquiries are directly related to
educationa.lcurriculum support. Programs that encourage reading target specific
age groups and.related stages of child development from infants to teenagers.
Many of the issues above can be addressed in the framework of regional versus
neighborhood libraries. The current Seminole County branches are neighborhood
libraries. They are limited service facilities with a multipurpose room, reference and
circulating collections. There is a minimal audiovisual collection and information
technology configuration.
The services in demand by Seminole County citizens are those found in regional libraries.
These are full service facilities with multipurpose, conference, group study, tutoring and
youth services program rooms. There are in-depth reference and circulating collections
:1
and extensive audiovisual and information technology configuration. Computer rooms
are available with instructional services offered.
Cbarl!:e to Mavors and Manal!:ers Librarv Expansion Subcommittee
Development
1. Determine proposed Level of Service (LOS)
The subcommittee voted to adopt the "essential" level of service from the Florida Library
Association (FLA) Standards for Florida Public Libraries 2004fotuse in planning. The
FLA standards are developed by the State Library ofFlorida_4 have been endorsed by
the Florida League of Cities and the Florida City and CoU11ty Mana,gement Association.
Three levels of service have been established by FLA fOfuse. They are:
Essential:
Enhanced:
Exemplary:
Basic library service which should be offered by every library.
This level starts where essential1ea.ves off and offers expanded services.
Highest and best service offered to the community.
. Books per capita (2)*
. Square feet per capita (.6)*
. Computers per capita (1 per 3,000 population)
. Parking spaces (1 per 200 sq ft or local code, whichever provides more spaces)
. Staffing (.3 per 1,000 population)*
* Considered a "core" standard in that it is .vital to providing effective public library
service. This is the~asic star1<iard that a public library must meet if it is to effectively
carry out the public library mission.
As is currently the practice, a standard countywide level of service would be utilized.
CENTRAL FLORIDA BENCHMARKS:
Library
System
Books per
Capita
ook$per Adopted
Ca ita Standard
1.00
SqFt
per Capita
Adopted
Standard
Service
o ulation
.50
394,900
507,810
240,716
941,404
210,438
4
Volusia 1.70 N/A 0.49 0.39 470,770
State Standard ~.O ~.6
Square
CMA Feet
Standard 0.5 per Capita
The International City/County Management Association has adopted a standard of 0.5
square feet per capita.
2. Determine square footage needed by current and future pOpulation density
The square footage standard recommended by the FLA is.6 square feet per capita.
Following is a breakdown of the current and future square footage needs.
YEAR POPULATION SQUARE FEET
(.6 sf per capita)
2003 394,900 236,940
2010 455,812 273,487
Current sa ft 98,000
3. Determine probable locations of expanded facilities
The subcommittee recommends:
. New regional library buildings with increased square footage are needed to meet
standards and serVice expectations.
o Open 1 days a week
o Full service facility with multipurpose, conference, group study, tutoring
and youth services program rooms
o In-depth reference and circulating collections
o Extensive information technology configuration
o Audiovisual services
o Computer rooms/laboratories with instructional services
. New 40,000 square foot facilities to replace, and in close vicinity to, the existing
East, North, Northwest and West branch libraries.
. Renovation of the Jean F. Rhein Central Branch Library to increase public service
space.
. Relocation of library centralized support and administration functions.
. New 40,000 square foot library in Winter Springs.
Additional assumptions used:
. Projections based on 2010 population estimates.
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. Service areas based on 4 mile driving range (5 miles for Casselberry).
. Expansion of existing facilities is not possible in the magnitude needed to obtain
the State square footage standard.
. Standard level of service countywide.
. Absolute minimum parcel size of3 acres (5 acres preferable) for proposed 40,000
square foot facilities.
. Preference for one story buildings to minimize staffing needs by maximizing the
areas staff can observe from customer service desks.
4. Determine cost ofbuildinglrenovation
Preliminary cost estimates for both new construction and repovation total approximately
$53 million. This is based on a construction cost estimate of$132 per square feet and a
furnishings estimate of $48 per square feet. The source for this c6stifithe December
2004 issue of the Library Journal which highlights library building proj~ts nationwide
for the year 2004. Costs utilized were for Florida building projects with a size between
30,000 and 60,000 square feet.
Operations
1. Based upon current services
a. Determine cost of operation of expanded facilities and services
Preliminary cost estimates for operations vary based upon the staffing level
utilized. Stafling can be/determined either based upon the current staffing level at
the Jean F. RheinCentralBranch Library (Option 1) as a standard for a regional
library or by utilizing the FLA standard of.3 employees per 1,000 population
(Option 2)..
Branch Current Option 1 Difference Option 2 Difference
Central 34 34 0 21 -13
East 19 33 +14 21 +2
North 13 33 +20 21 +8
Northwest 18 33 +15 21 +3
West 17 33 +16 21 +4
Winter Springs 0 33 +33 21 +21
Administration 8 8 0 8 0
Technical Svcs. 7 7 0 7 0
Total 116 214 +98 141 +25
Option 1 assumes current levels of service for circulation (book checkout),
referencelinformation services and the current exemplary children's
programming. This would provide a staffing level of 1 employee per 1,224
6
square feet which is in line with staffing levels at other Central Florida library
systems.
. Brevard County 1 per 1,318 sf
. Orange County 1 per 1,392 sf
. Volusia County 1 per 1,298 sf
Option 2 is based upon the "essential" level of service as defined by the FLA
standards for Florida Public Libraries 2004. The current children's programming
offered by all branch libraries exceeds this level. Therefore, the application of
this standard would result in a reduction in children's progt'arnming throughout
the library system and allow for the reassignment ofsUtff to an additional library .
Department staff does not recommend this option, in. that it would reduce the
current level of service. Option 1 is recommended.
There may be an opportunity to decrease the recommended level of staffing
through the deployment of the new techn()logy ofRFID (Radio Freqijency
IDentification) the need for additional stafffQrcir9ulation services would be
reduced. These systems are currently installed in tmly 300 libraries worldwide.
RFID speeds patron self-checkout and collection inventory.
b. Determine funding mechanism. fOf .constructionlrenovation and ongoing
support
A library dedic.ated millage is recomm.ended to fund both the
constructionftenovatiOllcosts and operating costs. Since the library system is
currently operated from the General Fund,.another source of funding is necessary
to implement the expansion program. Library & Leisure Services staff have
worke<:lwitiltl1e Depat'tJIlent of Fiscal Services to identify the most appropriate
fuitding option. ... The recommendation is to develop a Dependent Taxing District
Which would reqUire a referendum. Proposed referendum language, similar to
tha.t used by Osceola County is:
"Shall library service be furnished to residents of Seminole County by a levy of a
tax of up to one mill on all real and taxable property in the County?"
2. Determine additional services to be offered and related costs
Additional services recommended include:
Full AudioNisual collection $780,000 annual cost (6 new positions)
. Staffing increase of 1 Staff Assistant per branch
($180,000/6 positions)
. Startup costs of $100,000 per branch ($600,000)
. Annual cost of $100,000 per branch ($600,000)
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Expanded outreach services $365,000 annual cost (8 new positions)
. Senior Librarian - Young Adult Services ($53,000/1
position)
. Librarian - School Outreach ($45,000/1 position)
. 1 Young Adult Librarian at each branch ($267,000/6
positions)
Books by Mail $1.25 million annual cost (6 new positions)
. Staffing increase of 1 Staff Assistant per branch
($180,000/6 positions)
. Courier contract at a per packag~ cost of $2 and a volume
of 500,000 items per year (based upon Orange County
costs)
. Operating supplies, furniture and equiptl1ent
Scheduling of Library Projects
If the library referendum is held prior to September2Q05,budgeting of referendum funds
could be available in FY 2005/06. A referendum could be held in Mayor August to
allow time for public education as well as maximizing voter turnout while school is in
session and summer travel is either not ~I'\Vay or compl~(i. .Scheduling of projects
will be based upon availability of land andIofsuitable, existingfetail space.
Conclusion
Based upon feedbackJrom library users, there are expectations for higher service levels
than can be provided iriQurrent facilities. Increased service levels require more and
larger facilities.
Seminole County continues to experience rapid growth. Population projections show
60,9121)ew persons in theiCountybetween 2004 and 2010. If the experience ofthe
current residents is an indiCator, new residents will also expect the higher level of service
that is pro~d.
The Mayors andN1anagersSubcommittee and County staff recommend placing a
referendum on the ball()tin 2005 to fund expansion and ongoing operating costs of the
Seminole County Public Library System.
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