AG 2018 04 16 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1. LIBRARY USERS AND NEED a) Cabarrus County Public Library (CCPL) reported over 82,000 cardholders in fiscal year 2016-2017, and serves a County -wide populace of 201,590 according to 2016 US Census records. Completing a facilities assessment and updated strategic plan will benefit both existing library users and residents of Cabarrus County, and future residents, with a significant influx in population expected over the next decade. b) CCPL strives to meet demands on resources, which are becoming strained due to the growth of the county as a whole. Library administration also desires to create a public library system that embraces modern library services and facilities as outlined in The Aspen Institute's Rising to the Challenge; Re -Envisioning Public Libraries Report and Action Guide for Re -Envisioning Your Public Library. Current and future users deserve a library system that lives up to its mission to provide information and resources that educate, enrich, and empower, provided through a long-range plan that is reflective of data, community input, an assessment of facilities, and the shared vision of residents, community leaders, and library employees. Currently a system of four locations in Concord, Harrisburg, Kannapolis, and Mt. Pleasant, small-scale renovations and updates have taken place as funding allowed, although CCPL facilities remain in need of formal assessment. Tremendous growth in Cabarrus towns and cities necessitates additional branches and/or the expansion of existing buildings to decrease barriers to access. Examples of barriers include the unfortunate need to turn away program attendees at the Harrisburg branch, which is presently offering two sessions of its more popular programs, as attendance regularly exceeds the activity room's capacity of 48 people. Dedicated space for collections and work/study are also a barrier, seen in the Mt. Pleasant branch that must combine the young adult collections/area with the one meeting room space, significantly limiting both uses of the room while library programs are held. The western and southern areas of the county do not currently have convenient access to a Cabarrus library, with many residents paying to use libraries in Stanly and Mecklenburg counties out of convenience. While plans are already in place for some components of growth to library infrastructure—a combined library and senior center is expected to enter the design phase in FY19 in an effort to serve the western population; the town of Midland, in the southern region of the county, is in the process of procuring a building for a branch; the Mt. Pleasant Friends of the Library are actively fundraising to support an expansion—a consultant that can incorporate best practices, local data, and input from Cabarrus communities Into an official strategic plan will ensure that the library system plans for long-term growth and moves forward in a way that best represents user needs. In projections done by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's Urban Institute in January 2018 [full report is attached), Cabarrus County is the fourth fastest growing Cabarrus County Public Library CCPL Plan & Grow Together (LSTA EZ GRANT) Page 1 of 7 Attachment number 1 \n F-3 Page 48