Lending library

By Jeff Poole
Review Managing Editor

Published: July 3, 2008

For Gordonsville Library friends and patrons, it seems a new library is finally within their grasp. But they’re not out of the woods yet.
This week, the Orange County Board of Supervisors announced a final design concept had been selected and it will soon put the project to bid. What the board solicits bids on, however, could be contingent on a local fundraising effort between now and the end of September.
The board is challenging Gordonsville Library supporters to raise $300,000 in three months if they want the larger of two design options.
Gordonsville’s bid to replace its existing library (currently in the former town hall building) has lasted nearly 10 years.
The Gordonsville branch contains more than 18,000 items in less than 1,000 square feet. Originally opened for only 20 hours per week, the library’s hours and services have gradually expanded. Circulation has more than tripled in the last 10 years. Unfortunately, space has not kept up with demand.
When the county acquired the former Catholic Church property at the corner of Main Street and Baker Street in a trade for industrial park land, it designated the site as the future home of Gordonsville’s branch library.
But, without budgeted funds for renovation and construction, the former church building has been relegated to overflow storage and housing the library’s storytime programs.
The project got a boost two years ago when the county approved $738,122 in the 2006-07 county budget for a new Gordonsville library.
But problems arose in discussions about the proposed design. Library supporters advocated incorporating the historic Catholic Church into the new design and building a facility that blends in with downtown Gordonsville.
Cost estimates suggested it would be cheaper to scrap the old church sanctuary rather than restore it, but eventually, preservationists won out and the church sanctuary would be incorporated in the new design.
Now, the question is which of two iterations will be built.
The board has indicated if the community can raise $300,000 in the next three months, it will bid the larger of the two options (6,167 square feet.) If the money’s not raised, it will pursue the smaller option (approximately 5,100 square feet.) This size difference is larger than the size of the current library, which houses over 18,000 items for checkout.
So far, Gordonsville Friends of the Library funds coupled with Library Foundation funds have totaled nearly $56,000.
Orange County Librarian Katie Hill said the larger library clearly is preferable.
“We would definitely be able to provide more services and it would last longer,” she said. It would offer more space for programs, computers and collections, she said.
Ann Friberg, of the Gordonsville Friends of the Library, said the difference in the two designs is greater than the space the library currently has.
“It’s a tough goal, but we’ve already got some contributions,” she said.
The Friends are undertaking a number of fundraising efforts to help the cause.
Friberg said they have “penny” drives at each of the county’s branch libraries and will be starting a campaign to solicit contributions from Gordonsville and Barboursville-area businesses. They also plan a summer ice cream social Aug. 2 as a fundraiser and are working with the Orange County Library Foundation to raise funds from private donors.
“A lot of people have been wanting to support the library and told us they’ll give now that it’s moving forward,” she said. Some donors got discouraged years ago when the project seemed to lose traction.
Hill said the board is trying to pay for the library with cash, rather than tax increases. Money raised initially to build the larger version could save the inevitable tax increase to add onto the building later, she suggested.
Still, with the economy down, raising $300,000 could be tough.
“It’s certainly possible,” she said. “Things would have to go well. The economy is not in our favor. We couldn’t have raised the money years ago because no one was really sure it was going to get built.”
Gordonsville Mayor Bob Coiner said he hoped if the community rallied behind the project and still came up short, the board would recognize the effort and fund the difference.
“I’m concerned with the time frame,” the mayor said, noting he’d like the opportunity to deepen the potential donor pool. “But they worked with us on the design. Now I think we have a viable long-term solution.”
Hill suggested bids would go out this fall with a 9-12 month construction window.
Anyone wishing to make a tax deductible donation may send checks to the Gordonsville Friends of the Library Treasurer, 19385 Briar Patch Dr., Gordonsville, VA 22942 or the Orange County Library Foundation at P.O. Box 164, Orange, VA 22960, just mark your gift as “Gordonsville Building Fund.”
Additionally, the Gordonsville Friends of the Library are looking for new members and are holding a meeting Tuesday, July 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the former Catholic Church/new Gordonsville Library building at the corner of Baker Street and Main Street in downtown Gordonsville.