Community group forms to keep library downtown

A grassroots movement to keep the Jackson County Public Library in downtown Sylva is gaining momentum.

A petition in support of an improved downtown location distributed by a group called Keep Our Library Downtown has gathered nearly 2,000 signatures in just over a week, said group spokesman Joyce Moore.

Jackson County commissioners have set a public hearing to take comments on the proposal to move the library to the Southwestern Community College campus for Thursday, May 22, at 6 p.m. at SCC.

In addition to KOLD, the Town of Sylva and Sylva Partners in Renewal, an organization dedicated to downtown renewal, have both passed resolutions in support of keeping the library in Sylva. All groups have expressed a willingness to work with the county commissioners and the public library to find a solution to the library's space dilemma.

"Only a few weeks ago, the Jackson County Commissioners, Cecil Groves, president of Southwestern Community College, and Gail Findley, head of the Fontana Regional Library, revealed a plan to move the county library to the campus of Southwestern Community College," Moore said. "Despite having been under discussion for some time, this was the first public announcement of the plan."

Combining a public and college library under one roof is known as a joint-use library, she said.

"There are no other examples of joint-use libraries in North Carolina," Moore said. "A few examples of joint-use libraries exist in large, metropolitan areas, but all of these involve branches of the public library, not the central public library facility."

The current library building, which was built in its present location in the early 1970s, is crowded and in need of expanded facilities, Moore continued.

"KOLD wishes to find an alternative to the move to SCC while still addressing the public library's needs," she said. "Financial pressures seem to be prime motivation behind the move, despite the fact that both SCC and the county commissioners say that the move will not save the county or the college money."

Opposition to the move centers around concerns about a conflict of missions and operations between a public and academic library, accessibility to senior citizens and young children and negative economic impact on the revitalization efforts in downtown Sylva.

Back to Archive: 05/15/03.